1Chapter
Job and His Family
1There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of complete integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil. 2He had seven sons and three daughters. 3His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.
4His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.
4His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.
Satan’s First Test of Job
6One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
8Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”
9Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
13One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14a messenger came to Job and reported, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby, 15the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
16He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “God’s fire fell from heaven. It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
17That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
18He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. 19Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
20Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, 21saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
22Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.
8Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”
9Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
13One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14a messenger came to Job and reported, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby, 15the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
16He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “God’s fire fell from heaven. It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
17That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
18He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. 19Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
20Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, 21saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
22Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.
2Chapter
Satan’s Second Test of Job
1One day the sons of God came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord. 2The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
3Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited me against him, to destroy him for no good reason.”
4“Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. 5But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
6“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.” 7So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.
9His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.
3Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited me against him, to destroy him for no good reason.”
4“Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. 5But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
6“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.” 7So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.
9His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.
Job’s Three Friends
11Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head. 13Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.
3Chapter
Job’s Opening Speech
1After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born. 2He said:
3May the day I was born perish, and the night that said, “A boy is conceived.” 4If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above not care about it, or light shine on it. 5May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it. May what darkens the day terrify it. 6If only darkness had taken that night away! May it not appear among the days of the year or be listed in the calendar. 7Yes, may that night be barren; may no joyful shout be heard in it. 8Let those who curse days condemn it, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan. 9May its morning stars grow dark. May it wait for daylight but have none; may it not see the breaking of dawn. 10For that night did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, and hide sorrow from my eyes.
11Why was I not stillborn; why didn’t I die as I came from the womb? 12Why did the knees receive me, and why were there breasts for me to nurse? 13Now I would certainly be lying down in peace; I would be asleep. Then I would be at rest 14with the kings and counselors of the earth, who rebuilt ruined cities for themselves, 15or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. 16Or why was I not hidden like a miscarried child, like infants who never see daylight? 17There the wicked cease to make trouble, and there the weary find rest. 18The captives are completely at rest; they do not hear a taskmaster’s voice. 19Both small and great are there, and the slave is set free from his master.
20Why is light given to one burdened with grief, and life to those whose existence is bitter, 21who wait for death, but it does not come, and search for it more than for hidden treasure, 22who are filled with much joy and are glad when they reach the grave? 23Why is life given to a man whose path is hidden, whom God has hedged in? 24I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water. 25For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. 26I cannot relax or be calm; I have no rest, for turmoil has come.
3May the day I was born perish, and the night that said, “A boy is conceived.” 4If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above not care about it, or light shine on it. 5May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it. May what darkens the day terrify it. 6If only darkness had taken that night away! May it not appear among the days of the year or be listed in the calendar. 7Yes, may that night be barren; may no joyful shout be heard in it. 8Let those who curse days condemn it, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan. 9May its morning stars grow dark. May it wait for daylight but have none; may it not see the breaking of dawn. 10For that night did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, and hide sorrow from my eyes.
11Why was I not stillborn; why didn’t I die as I came from the womb? 12Why did the knees receive me, and why were there breasts for me to nurse? 13Now I would certainly be lying down in peace; I would be asleep. Then I would be at rest 14with the kings and counselors of the earth, who rebuilt ruined cities for themselves, 15or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. 16Or why was I not hidden like a miscarried child, like infants who never see daylight? 17There the wicked cease to make trouble, and there the weary find rest. 18The captives are completely at rest; they do not hear a taskmaster’s voice. 19Both small and great are there, and the slave is set free from his master.
20Why is light given to one burdened with grief, and life to those whose existence is bitter, 21who wait for death, but it does not come, and search for it more than for hidden treasure, 22who are filled with much joy and are glad when they reach the grave? 23Why is life given to a man whose path is hidden, whom God has hedged in? 24I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water. 25For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. 26I cannot relax or be calm; I have no rest, for turmoil has come.
4Chapter
Eliphaz Speaks
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2Should anyone try to speak with you when you are exhausted? Yet who can keep from speaking? 3Indeed, you have instructed many and have strengthened weak hands. 4Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling and braced the knees that were buckling. 5But now that this has happened to you, you have become exhausted. It strikes you, and you are dismayed. 6Isn’t your piety your confidence, and the integrity of your life your hope? 7Consider: Who has perished when he was innocent? Where have the honest been destroyed? 8In my experience, those who plow injustice and those who sow trouble reap the same. 9They perish at a single blast from God and come to an end by the breath of his nostrils. 10The lion may roar and the fierce lion growl, but the teeth of young lions are broken. 11The strong lion dies if it catches no prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12A word was brought to me in secret; my ears caught a whisper of it. 13Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night, when deep sleep comes over men, 14fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shake. 15I felt a draft on my face, and the hair on my body stood up. 16A figure stood there, but I could not recognize its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes. I heard a whispering voice: 17“Can a mortal be righteous before God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?” 18If God puts no trust in his servants and he charges his angels with foolishness, 19how much more those who dwell in clay houses, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth! 20They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; they perish forever while no one notices. 21Are their tent cords not pulled up? They die without wisdom.
2Should anyone try to speak with you when you are exhausted? Yet who can keep from speaking? 3Indeed, you have instructed many and have strengthened weak hands. 4Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling and braced the knees that were buckling. 5But now that this has happened to you, you have become exhausted. It strikes you, and you are dismayed. 6Isn’t your piety your confidence, and the integrity of your life your hope? 7Consider: Who has perished when he was innocent? Where have the honest been destroyed? 8In my experience, those who plow injustice and those who sow trouble reap the same. 9They perish at a single blast from God and come to an end by the breath of his nostrils. 10The lion may roar and the fierce lion growl, but the teeth of young lions are broken. 11The strong lion dies if it catches no prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12A word was brought to me in secret; my ears caught a whisper of it. 13Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night, when deep sleep comes over men, 14fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shake. 15I felt a draft on my face, and the hair on my body stood up. 16A figure stood there, but I could not recognize its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes. I heard a whispering voice: 17“Can a mortal be righteous before God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?” 18If God puts no trust in his servants and he charges his angels with foolishness, 19how much more those who dwell in clay houses, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth! 20They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; they perish forever while no one notices. 21Are their tent cords not pulled up? They die without wisdom.
5Chapter
1Call out! Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones will you turn to? 2For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible. 3I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home. 4His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,
with no one to rescue them. 5The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.
The thirsty pant for his children’s wealth. 6For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground. 7But humans are born for trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and would present my case to him. 9He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number. 10He gives rain to the earth and sends water to the fields. 11He sets the lowly on high, and mourners are lifted to safety. 12He frustrates the schemes of the crafty so that they achieve no success. 13He traps the wise in their craftiness so that the plans of the deceptive are quickly brought to an end. 14They encounter darkness by day, and they grope at noon as if it were night. 15He saves the needy from their sharp words and from the clutches of the powerful. 16So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. 17See how happy is the person whom God corrects; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty. 18For he wounds but he also bandages; he strikes, but his hands also heal. 19He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven. 20In famine he will redeem you from death, and in battle, from the power of the sword. 21You will be safe from slander and not fear destruction when it comes. 22You will laugh at destruction and hunger and not fear the land’s wild creatures. 23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. 24You will know that your tent is secure, and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home. 25You will also know that your offspring will be many and your descendants like the grass of the earth. 26You will approach the grave in full vigor, as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.
27We have investigated this, and it is true! Hear it and understand it for yourself.
8However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and would present my case to him. 9He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number. 10He gives rain to the earth and sends water to the fields. 11He sets the lowly on high, and mourners are lifted to safety. 12He frustrates the schemes of the crafty so that they achieve no success. 13He traps the wise in their craftiness so that the plans of the deceptive are quickly brought to an end. 14They encounter darkness by day, and they grope at noon as if it were night. 15He saves the needy from their sharp words and from the clutches of the powerful. 16So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. 17See how happy is the person whom God corrects; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty. 18For he wounds but he also bandages; he strikes, but his hands also heal. 19He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven. 20In famine he will redeem you from death, and in battle, from the power of the sword. 21You will be safe from slander and not fear destruction when it comes. 22You will laugh at destruction and hunger and not fear the land’s wild creatures. 23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. 24You will know that your tent is secure, and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home. 25You will also know that your offspring will be many and your descendants like the grass of the earth. 26You will approach the grave in full vigor, as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.
27We have investigated this, and it is true! Hear it and understand it for yourself.
6Chapter
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
1Then Job answered:
2If only my grief could be weighed and my devastation placed with it on the scales. 3For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas! That is why my words are rash. 4Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks their poison. God’s terrors are arrayed against me. 5Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass or an ox low over its fodder? 6Is bland food eaten without salt? Is there flavor in an egg white? 7I refuse to touch them; they are like contaminated food.
8If only my request would be granted and God would provide what I hope for: 9that he would decide to crush me, to unleash his power and cut me off! 10It would still bring me comfort, and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11What strength do I have, that I should continue to hope? What is my future, that I should be patient? 12Is my strength that of stone, or my flesh made of bronze? 13Since I cannot help myself, the hope for success has been banished from me.
14A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends, even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty. 15My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi, as seasonal streams that overflow 16and become darkened because of ice, and the snow melts into them. 17The wadis evaporate in warm weather; they disappear from their channels in hot weather. 18Caravans turn away from their routes, go up into the desert, and perish. 19The caravans of Tema look for these streams. The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them. 20They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water. When they arrive there, they are disappointed. 21So this is what you have now become to me. When you see something dreadful, you are afraid. 22Have I ever said, “Give me something” or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth” 23or “Deliver me from the enemy’s hand” or “Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless”?
24Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand what I did wrong. 25How painful honest words can be! But what does your rebuke prove? 26Do you think that you can disprove my words or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind? 27No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child and negotiate a price to sell your friend.
28But now, please look at me; I will not lie to your face. 29Reconsider; don’t be unjust. Reconsider; my righteousness is still the issue. 30Is there injustice on my tongue or can my palate not taste disaster?
2If only my grief could be weighed and my devastation placed with it on the scales. 3For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas! That is why my words are rash. 4Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks their poison. God’s terrors are arrayed against me. 5Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass or an ox low over its fodder? 6Is bland food eaten without salt? Is there flavor in an egg white? 7I refuse to touch them; they are like contaminated food.
8If only my request would be granted and God would provide what I hope for: 9that he would decide to crush me, to unleash his power and cut me off! 10It would still bring me comfort, and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11What strength do I have, that I should continue to hope? What is my future, that I should be patient? 12Is my strength that of stone, or my flesh made of bronze? 13Since I cannot help myself, the hope for success has been banished from me.
14A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends, even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty. 15My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi, as seasonal streams that overflow 16and become darkened because of ice, and the snow melts into them. 17The wadis evaporate in warm weather; they disappear from their channels in hot weather. 18Caravans turn away from their routes, go up into the desert, and perish. 19The caravans of Tema look for these streams. The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them. 20They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water. When they arrive there, they are disappointed. 21So this is what you have now become to me. When you see something dreadful, you are afraid. 22Have I ever said, “Give me something” or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth” 23or “Deliver me from the enemy’s hand” or “Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless”?
24Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand what I did wrong. 25How painful honest words can be! But what does your rebuke prove? 26Do you think that you can disprove my words or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind? 27No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child and negotiate a price to sell your friend.
28But now, please look at me; I will not lie to your face. 29Reconsider; don’t be unjust. Reconsider; my righteousness is still the issue. 30Is there injustice on my tongue or can my palate not taste disaster?
7Chapter
1Isn’t each person consigned to forced labor on earth?
Are not his days like those of a hired worker? 2Like a slave he longs for shade;
like a hired worker he waits for his pay. 3So I have been made to inherit months of futility,
and troubled nights have been assigned to me. 4When I lie down I think,
“When will I get up?”
But the evening drags on endlessly,
and I toss and turn until dawn. 5My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt.
My skin forms scabs and then oozes.
6My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. 7Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye will never again see anything good. 8The eye of anyone who looks on me will no longer see me. Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone. 9As a cloud fades away and vanishes, so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again. 10He will never return to his house; his hometown will no longer remember him.
11Therefore I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12Am I the sea or a sea monster, that you keep me under guard? 13When I say, “My bed will comfort me, and my couch will ease my complaint,” 14then you frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions, 15so that I prefer strangling — death rather than life in this body. 16I give up! I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.
17What is a mere human, that you think so highly of him and pay so much attention to him? 18You inspect him every morning, and put him to the test every moment. 19Will you ever look away from me, or leave me alone long enough to swallow? 20If I have sinned, what have I done to you, Watcher of humanity? Why have you made me your target, so that I have become a burden to you? 21Why not forgive my sin and pardon my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the grave. You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.
6My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. 7Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye will never again see anything good. 8The eye of anyone who looks on me will no longer see me. Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone. 9As a cloud fades away and vanishes, so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again. 10He will never return to his house; his hometown will no longer remember him.
11Therefore I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12Am I the sea or a sea monster, that you keep me under guard? 13When I say, “My bed will comfort me, and my couch will ease my complaint,” 14then you frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions, 15so that I prefer strangling — death rather than life in this body. 16I give up! I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.
17What is a mere human, that you think so highly of him and pay so much attention to him? 18You inspect him every morning, and put him to the test every moment. 19Will you ever look away from me, or leave me alone long enough to swallow? 20If I have sinned, what have I done to you, Watcher of humanity? Why have you made me your target, so that I have become a burden to you? 21Why not forgive my sin and pardon my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the grave. You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.
8Chapter
Bildad Speaks
1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2How long will you go on saying these things? Your words are a blast of wind. 3Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? 4Since your children sinned against him, he gave them over to their rebellion. 5But if you earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, 6if you are pure and upright, then he will move even now on your behalf and restore the home where your righteousness dwells. 7Then, even if your beginnings were modest, your final days will be full of prosperity.
8For ask the previous generation, and pay attention to what their ancestors discovered, 9since we were born only yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are but a shadow. 10Will they not teach you and tell you and speak from their understanding? 11Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water? 12While still uncut shoots, they would dry up quicker than any other plant. 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish.
14His source of confidence is fragile; what he trusts in is a spider’s web. 15He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm. He grabs it, but it does not hold up. 16He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine; his shoots spread out over his garden. 17His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks. He looks for a home among the stones. 18If he is uprooted from his place, it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.” 19Surely this is the joy of his way of life; yet others will sprout from the dust. 20Look, God does not reject a person of integrity, and he will not support evildoers.
21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with a shout of joy. 22Your enemies will be clothed with shame; the tent of the wicked will no longer exist.
2How long will you go on saying these things? Your words are a blast of wind. 3Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? 4Since your children sinned against him, he gave them over to their rebellion. 5But if you earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, 6if you are pure and upright, then he will move even now on your behalf and restore the home where your righteousness dwells. 7Then, even if your beginnings were modest, your final days will be full of prosperity.
8For ask the previous generation, and pay attention to what their ancestors discovered, 9since we were born only yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are but a shadow. 10Will they not teach you and tell you and speak from their understanding? 11Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water? 12While still uncut shoots, they would dry up quicker than any other plant. 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish.
14His source of confidence is fragile; what he trusts in is a spider’s web. 15He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm. He grabs it, but it does not hold up. 16He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine; his shoots spread out over his garden. 17His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks. He looks for a home among the stones. 18If he is uprooted from his place, it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.” 19Surely this is the joy of his way of life; yet others will sprout from the dust. 20Look, God does not reject a person of integrity, and he will not support evildoers.
21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with a shout of joy. 22Your enemies will be clothed with shame; the tent of the wicked will no longer exist.
9Chapter
Job’s Reply to Bildad
1Then Job answered:
2Yes, I know what you’ve said is true, but how can a person be justified before God? 3If one wanted to take him to court, he could not answer God once in a thousand times. 4God is wise and all-powerful. Who has opposed him and come out unharmed? 5He removes mountains without their knowledge, overturning them in his anger. 6He shakes the earth from its place so that its pillars tremble. 7He commands the sun not to shine and seals off the stars. 8He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. 9He makes the stars: the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky. 10He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number. 11If he passed by me, I wouldn’t see him; if he went by, I wouldn’t recognize him. 12If he snatches something, who can stop him? Who can ask him, “What are you doing?” 13God does not hold back his anger; Rahab’s assistants cringe in fear beneath him! 14How then can I answer him or choose my arguments against him? 15Even if I were in the right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy. 16If I summoned him and he answered me, I do not believe he would pay attention to what I said. 17He batters me with a whirlwind and multiplies my wounds without cause. 18He doesn’t let me catch my breath but fills me with bitter experiences. 19If it is a matter of strength, look, he is the powerful one! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him? 20Even if I were in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, my mouth would declare me guilty. 21Though I am blameless, I no longer care about myself; I renounce my life. 22It is all the same. Therefore I say, “He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.” 23When catastrophe brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent. 24The earth is handed over to the wicked; he blindfolds its judges. If it isn’t he, then who is it?
25My days fly by faster than a runner; they flee without seeing any good. 26They sweep by like boats made of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey. 27If I said, “I will forget my complaint, change my expression, and smile,” 28I would still live in terror of all my pains. I know you will not acquit me. 29Since I will be found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? 30If I wash myself with snow, and cleanse my hands with lye, 31then you dip me in a pit of mud, and my own clothes despise me!
32For he is not a man like me, that I can answer him, that we can take each other to court. 33There is no mediator between us, to lay his hand on both of us. 34Let him take his rod away from me so his terror will no longer frighten me. 35Then I would speak and not fear him. But that is not the case; I am on my own.
2Yes, I know what you’ve said is true, but how can a person be justified before God? 3If one wanted to take him to court, he could not answer God once in a thousand times. 4God is wise and all-powerful. Who has opposed him and come out unharmed? 5He removes mountains without their knowledge, overturning them in his anger. 6He shakes the earth from its place so that its pillars tremble. 7He commands the sun not to shine and seals off the stars. 8He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. 9He makes the stars: the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky. 10He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number. 11If he passed by me, I wouldn’t see him; if he went by, I wouldn’t recognize him. 12If he snatches something, who can stop him? Who can ask him, “What are you doing?” 13God does not hold back his anger; Rahab’s assistants cringe in fear beneath him! 14How then can I answer him or choose my arguments against him? 15Even if I were in the right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy. 16If I summoned him and he answered me, I do not believe he would pay attention to what I said. 17He batters me with a whirlwind and multiplies my wounds without cause. 18He doesn’t let me catch my breath but fills me with bitter experiences. 19If it is a matter of strength, look, he is the powerful one! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him? 20Even if I were in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, my mouth would declare me guilty. 21Though I am blameless, I no longer care about myself; I renounce my life. 22It is all the same. Therefore I say, “He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.” 23When catastrophe brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent. 24The earth is handed over to the wicked; he blindfolds its judges. If it isn’t he, then who is it?
25My days fly by faster than a runner; they flee without seeing any good. 26They sweep by like boats made of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey. 27If I said, “I will forget my complaint, change my expression, and smile,” 28I would still live in terror of all my pains. I know you will not acquit me. 29Since I will be found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? 30If I wash myself with snow, and cleanse my hands with lye, 31then you dip me in a pit of mud, and my own clothes despise me!
32For he is not a man like me, that I can answer him, that we can take each other to court. 33There is no mediator between us, to lay his hand on both of us. 34Let him take his rod away from me so his terror will no longer frighten me. 35Then I would speak and not fear him. But that is not the case; I am on my own.
10Chapter
1I am disgusted with my life.
I will give vent to my complaint
and speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2I will say to God,
“Do not declare me guilty!
Let me know why you prosecute me. 3Is it good for you to oppress,
to reject the work of your hands,
and favor the plans of the wicked? 4Do you have eyes of flesh,
or do you see as a human sees? 5Are your days like those of a human,
or your years like those of a man, 6that you look for my iniquity
and search for my sin, 7even though you know that I am not wicked
and that there is no one who can rescue from your power?
8“Your hands shaped me and formed me. Will you now turn and destroy me? 9Please remember that you formed me like clay. Will you now return me to dust? 10Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? 11You clothed me with skin and flesh, and wove me together with bones and tendons. 12You gave me life and faithful love, and your care has guarded my life.
13“Yet you concealed these thoughts in your heart; I know that this was your hidden plan: 14if I sin, you would notice, and would not acquit me of my iniquity. 15If I am wicked, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am filled with shame and have drunk deeply of my affliction. 16If I am proud, you hunt me like a lion and again display your miraculous power against me. 17You produce new witnesses against me and multiply your anger toward me. Hardships assault me, wave after wave.
18“Why did you bring me out of the womb? I should have died and never been seen. 19I wish I had never existed but had been carried from the womb to the grave. 20Are my days not few? Stop it! Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little 21before I go to a land of darkness and gloom, never to return. 22It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness, gloomy and chaotic, where even the light is like the darkness.”
8“Your hands shaped me and formed me. Will you now turn and destroy me? 9Please remember that you formed me like clay. Will you now return me to dust? 10Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? 11You clothed me with skin and flesh, and wove me together with bones and tendons. 12You gave me life and faithful love, and your care has guarded my life.
13“Yet you concealed these thoughts in your heart; I know that this was your hidden plan: 14if I sin, you would notice, and would not acquit me of my iniquity. 15If I am wicked, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am filled with shame and have drunk deeply of my affliction. 16If I am proud, you hunt me like a lion and again display your miraculous power against me. 17You produce new witnesses against me and multiply your anger toward me. Hardships assault me, wave after wave.
18“Why did you bring me out of the womb? I should have died and never been seen. 19I wish I had never existed but had been carried from the womb to the grave. 20Are my days not few? Stop it! Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little 21before I go to a land of darkness and gloom, never to return. 22It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness, gloomy and chaotic, where even the light is like the darkness.”
11Chapter
Zophar Speaks
1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2Should this abundance of words go unanswered and such a talker be acquitted? 3Should your babbling put others to silence, so that you can keep on ridiculing with no one to humiliate you? 4You have said, “My teaching is sound, and I am pure in your sight.” 5But if only God would speak and open his lips against you! 6He would show you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your iniquity.
7Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? 8They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know? 9Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
10If he passes by and throws someone in prison or convenes a court, who can stop him? 11Surely he knows which people are worthless. If he sees iniquity, will he not take note of it? 12But a stupid person will gain understanding as soon as a wild donkey is born a human!
13As for you, if you redirect your heart and spread out your hands to him in prayer— 14if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it, and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents— 15then you will hold your head high, free from fault. You will be firmly established and unafraid. 16For you will forget your suffering, recalling it only as water that has flowed by. 17Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. 18You will be confident, because there is hope. You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.
19You will lie down with no one to frighten you, and many will seek your favor. 20But the sight of the wicked will fail. Their way of escape will be cut off, and their only hope is their last breath.
2Should this abundance of words go unanswered and such a talker be acquitted? 3Should your babbling put others to silence, so that you can keep on ridiculing with no one to humiliate you? 4You have said, “My teaching is sound, and I am pure in your sight.” 5But if only God would speak and open his lips against you! 6He would show you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your iniquity.
7Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? 8They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know? 9Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
10If he passes by and throws someone in prison or convenes a court, who can stop him? 11Surely he knows which people are worthless. If he sees iniquity, will he not take note of it? 12But a stupid person will gain understanding as soon as a wild donkey is born a human!
13As for you, if you redirect your heart and spread out your hands to him in prayer— 14if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it, and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents— 15then you will hold your head high, free from fault. You will be firmly established and unafraid. 16For you will forget your suffering, recalling it only as water that has flowed by. 17Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. 18You will be confident, because there is hope. You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.
19You will lie down with no one to frighten you, and many will seek your favor. 20But the sight of the wicked will fail. Their way of escape will be cut off, and their only hope is their last breath.
12Chapter
Job’s Reply to Zophar
1Then Job answered:
2No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you! 3But I also have a mind like you; I am not inferior to you. Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?
4I am a laughingstock to my friends, by calling on God, who answers me. The righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock. 5The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping. 6The tents of robbers are safe, and those who trouble God are secure; God holds them in his hands.
7But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. 8Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you; let the fish of the sea inform you. 9Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity. 11Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food? 12Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.
13Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are his. 14Whatever he tears down cannot be rebuilt; whoever he imprisons cannot be released. 15When he withholds water, everything dries up, and when he releases it, it destroys the land. 16True wisdom and power belong to him. The deceived and the deceiver are his. 17He leads counselors away barefoot and makes judges go mad. 18He releases the bonds put on by kings and fastens a belt around their waists. 19He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows established leaders. 20He deprives trusted advisers of speech and takes away the elders’ good judgment. 21He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the strong. 22He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light. 23He makes nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges nations, then leads them away. 24He deprives the world’s leaders of reason, and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. 25They grope around in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like a drunkard.
2No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you! 3But I also have a mind like you; I am not inferior to you. Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?
4I am a laughingstock to my friends, by calling on God, who answers me. The righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock. 5The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping. 6The tents of robbers are safe, and those who trouble God are secure; God holds them in his hands.
7But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. 8Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you; let the fish of the sea inform you. 9Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity. 11Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food? 12Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.
13Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are his. 14Whatever he tears down cannot be rebuilt; whoever he imprisons cannot be released. 15When he withholds water, everything dries up, and when he releases it, it destroys the land. 16True wisdom and power belong to him. The deceived and the deceiver are his. 17He leads counselors away barefoot and makes judges go mad. 18He releases the bonds put on by kings and fastens a belt around their waists. 19He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows established leaders. 20He deprives trusted advisers of speech and takes away the elders’ good judgment. 21He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the strong. 22He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light. 23He makes nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges nations, then leads them away. 24He deprives the world’s leaders of reason, and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. 25They grope around in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like a drunkard.
13Chapter
1Look, my eyes have seen all this;
my ears have heard and understood it. 2Everything you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you. 3Yet I prefer to speak to the Almighty
and argue my case before God. 4You use lies like plaster;
you are all worthless healers. 5If only you would shut up
and let that be your wisdom!
6Hear now my argument, and listen to my defense. 7Would you testify unjustly on God’s behalf or speak deceitfully for him? 8Would you show partiality to him or argue the case in his defense? 9Would it go well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you would deceive a man? 10Surely he would rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality. 11Would God’s majesty not terrify you? Would his dread not fall on you? 12Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash; your defenses are made of clay.
13Be quiet, and I will speak. Let whatever comes happen to me. 14I will put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands. 15Even if he kills me, I will hope in him. I will still defend my ways before him. 16Yes, this will result in my deliverance, for no godless person can appear before him. 17Pay close attention to my words; let my declaration ring in your ears. 18Now then, I have prepared my case; I know that I am right. 19Can anyone indict me? If so, I will be silent and die.
20Only grant these two things to me, God, so that I will not have to hide from your presence: 21remove your hand from me, and do not let your terror frighten me. 22Then call, and I will answer, or I will speak, and you can respond to me. 23How many iniquities and sins have I committed? Reveal to me my transgression and sin. 24Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy? 25Will you frighten a wind-driven leaf? Will you chase after dry straw? 26For you record bitter accusations against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. 27You put my feet in the stocks and stand watch over all my paths, setting a limit for the soles of my feet.
28A person wears out like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.
6Hear now my argument, and listen to my defense. 7Would you testify unjustly on God’s behalf or speak deceitfully for him? 8Would you show partiality to him or argue the case in his defense? 9Would it go well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you would deceive a man? 10Surely he would rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality. 11Would God’s majesty not terrify you? Would his dread not fall on you? 12Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash; your defenses are made of clay.
13Be quiet, and I will speak. Let whatever comes happen to me. 14I will put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands. 15Even if he kills me, I will hope in him. I will still defend my ways before him. 16Yes, this will result in my deliverance, for no godless person can appear before him. 17Pay close attention to my words; let my declaration ring in your ears. 18Now then, I have prepared my case; I know that I am right. 19Can anyone indict me? If so, I will be silent and die.
20Only grant these two things to me, God, so that I will not have to hide from your presence: 21remove your hand from me, and do not let your terror frighten me. 22Then call, and I will answer, or I will speak, and you can respond to me. 23How many iniquities and sins have I committed? Reveal to me my transgression and sin. 24Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy? 25Will you frighten a wind-driven leaf? Will you chase after dry straw? 26For you record bitter accusations against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. 27You put my feet in the stocks and stand watch over all my paths, setting a limit for the soles of my feet.
28A person wears out like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.
14Chapter
1Anyone born of woman
is short of days and full of trouble. 2He blossoms like a flower, then withers;
he flees like a shadow and does not last. 3Do you really take notice of one like this?
Will you bring me into judgment against you? 4Who can produce something pure from what is impure?
No one! 5Since a person’s days are determined
and the number of his months depends on you,
and since you have set limits he cannot pass, 6look away from him and let him rest
so that he can enjoy his day like a hired worker.
7There is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not die. 8If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump starts to die in the soil, 9the scent of water makes it thrive and produce twigs like a sapling. 10But a person dies and fades away; he breathes his last—where is he? 11As water disappears from a lake and a river becomes parched and dry, 12so people lie down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep.
13If only you would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until your anger passes. If only you would appoint a time for me and then remember me. 14When a person dies, will he come back to life? If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle until my relief comes. 15You would call, and I would answer you. You would long for the work of your hands. 16For then you would count my steps but would not take note of my sin. 17My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity.
18But as a mountain collapses and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place, 19as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil from the land, so you destroy a man’s hope. 20You completely overpower him, and he passes on; you change his appearance and send him away. 21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it. 22He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself.
7There is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not die. 8If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump starts to die in the soil, 9the scent of water makes it thrive and produce twigs like a sapling. 10But a person dies and fades away; he breathes his last—where is he? 11As water disappears from a lake and a river becomes parched and dry, 12so people lie down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep.
13If only you would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until your anger passes. If only you would appoint a time for me and then remember me. 14When a person dies, will he come back to life? If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle until my relief comes. 15You would call, and I would answer you. You would long for the work of your hands. 16For then you would count my steps but would not take note of my sin. 17My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity.
18But as a mountain collapses and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place, 19as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil from the land, so you destroy a man’s hope. 20You completely overpower him, and he passes on; you change his appearance and send him away. 21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it. 22He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself.
15Chapter
Eliphaz Speaks
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill himself with the hot east wind? 3Should he argue with useless talk or with words that serve no good purpose? 4But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before him. 5Your iniquity teaches you what to say, and you choose the language of the crafty. 6Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your own lips testify against you.
7Were you the first human ever born, or were you brought forth before the hills? 8Do you listen in on the council of God, or have a monopoly on wisdom? 9What do you know that we don’t? What do you understand that is not clear to us? 10Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us— older than your father. 11Are God’s consolations not enough for you, even the words that deal gently with you? 12Why has your heart misled you, and why do your eyes flash 13as you turn your anger against God and allow such words to leave your mouth?
14What is a mere human, that he should be pure, or one born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15If God puts no trust in his holy ones and the heavens are not pure in his sight, 16how much less one who is revolting and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
17Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen, 18what the wise have declared and not concealed, that came from their ancestors, 19to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them. 20A wicked person writhes in pain all his days, throughout the number of years reserved for the ruthless. 21Dreadful sounds fill his ears; when he is at peace, a robber attacks him. 22He doesn’t believe he will return from darkness; he is destined for the sword. 23He wanders about for food, asking, “Where is it?” He knows the day of darkness is at hand. 24Trouble and distress terrify him, overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle. 25For he has stretched out his hand against God and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty. 26He rushes headlong at him with his thick, studded shields. 27Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with it, 28he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble. 29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not increase in the land. 30He will not escape from the darkness; flames will wither his shoots, and by the breath of God’s mouth, he will depart. 31Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray, for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless. 32It will be accomplished before his time, and his branch will not flourish. 33He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms. 34For the company of the godless will have no children, and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes. 35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb prepares deception.
2Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill himself with the hot east wind? 3Should he argue with useless talk or with words that serve no good purpose? 4But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before him. 5Your iniquity teaches you what to say, and you choose the language of the crafty. 6Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your own lips testify against you.
7Were you the first human ever born, or were you brought forth before the hills? 8Do you listen in on the council of God, or have a monopoly on wisdom? 9What do you know that we don’t? What do you understand that is not clear to us? 10Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us— older than your father. 11Are God’s consolations not enough for you, even the words that deal gently with you? 12Why has your heart misled you, and why do your eyes flash 13as you turn your anger against God and allow such words to leave your mouth?
14What is a mere human, that he should be pure, or one born of a woman, that he should be righteous? 15If God puts no trust in his holy ones and the heavens are not pure in his sight, 16how much less one who is revolting and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
17Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen, 18what the wise have declared and not concealed, that came from their ancestors, 19to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them. 20A wicked person writhes in pain all his days, throughout the number of years reserved for the ruthless. 21Dreadful sounds fill his ears; when he is at peace, a robber attacks him. 22He doesn’t believe he will return from darkness; he is destined for the sword. 23He wanders about for food, asking, “Where is it?” He knows the day of darkness is at hand. 24Trouble and distress terrify him, overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle. 25For he has stretched out his hand against God and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty. 26He rushes headlong at him with his thick, studded shields. 27Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with it, 28he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble. 29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not increase in the land. 30He will not escape from the darkness; flames will wither his shoots, and by the breath of God’s mouth, he will depart. 31Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray, for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless. 32It will be accomplished before his time, and his branch will not flourish. 33He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms. 34For the company of the godless will have no children, and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes. 35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb prepares deception.
16Chapter
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
1Then Job answered:
2I have heard many things like these. You are all miserable comforters. 3Is there no end to your empty words? What provokes you that you continue testifying? 4If you were in my place I could also talk like you. I could string words together against you and shake my head at you. 5Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.
6If I speak, my suffering is not relieved, and if I hold back, does any of it leave me? 7Surely he has now exhausted me. You have devastated my entire family. 8You have shriveled me up —it has become a witness; my frailty rises up against me and testifies to my face. 9His anger tears at me, and he harasses me. He gnashes his teeth at me. My enemy pierces me with his eyes. 10They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join themselves together against me. 11God hands me over to the unjust; he throws me to the wicked. 12I was at ease, but he shattered me; he seized me by the scruff of the neck and smashed me to pieces. He set me up as his target; 13his archers surround me. He pierces my kidneys without mercy and pours my bile on the ground. 14He breaks through my defenses again and again; he charges at me like a warrior.
15I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my strength in the dust. 16My face has grown red with weeping, and darkness covers my eyes, 17although my hands are free from violence and my prayer is pure.
18Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help find no resting place. 19Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is in the heights! 20My friends scoff at me as I weep before God. 21I wish that someone might argue for a man with God just as anyone would for a friend. 22For only a few years will pass before I go the way of no return.
2I have heard many things like these. You are all miserable comforters. 3Is there no end to your empty words? What provokes you that you continue testifying? 4If you were in my place I could also talk like you. I could string words together against you and shake my head at you. 5Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.
6If I speak, my suffering is not relieved, and if I hold back, does any of it leave me? 7Surely he has now exhausted me. You have devastated my entire family. 8You have shriveled me up —it has become a witness; my frailty rises up against me and testifies to my face. 9His anger tears at me, and he harasses me. He gnashes his teeth at me. My enemy pierces me with his eyes. 10They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join themselves together against me. 11God hands me over to the unjust; he throws me to the wicked. 12I was at ease, but he shattered me; he seized me by the scruff of the neck and smashed me to pieces. He set me up as his target; 13his archers surround me. He pierces my kidneys without mercy and pours my bile on the ground. 14He breaks through my defenses again and again; he charges at me like a warrior.
15I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my strength in the dust. 16My face has grown red with weeping, and darkness covers my eyes, 17although my hands are free from violence and my prayer is pure.
18Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help find no resting place. 19Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is in the heights! 20My friends scoff at me as I weep before God. 21I wish that someone might argue for a man with God just as anyone would for a friend. 22For only a few years will pass before I go the way of no return.
17Chapter
1My spirit is broken.
My days are extinguished.
A graveyard awaits me. 2Surely mockers surround me,
and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.
3Accept my pledge! Put up security for me. Who else will be my sponsor? 4You have closed their minds to understanding, therefore you will not honor them. 5If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail.
6He has made me an object of scorn to the people; I have become a man people spit at. 7My eyes have grown dim from grief, and my whole body has become but a shadow. 8The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent are roused against the godless. 9Yet the righteous person will hold to his way, and the one whose hands are clean will grow stronger. 10But come back and try again, all of you. I will not find a wise man among you.
11My days have slipped by; my plans have been ruined, even the things dear to my heart. 12They turned night into day and made light seem near in the face of darkness. 13If I await Sheol as my home, spread out my bed in darkness, 14and say to corruption, “You are my father,” and to the maggot, “My mother” or “My sister,” 15where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? 16Will it go down to the gates of Sheol, or will we descend together to the dust?
3Accept my pledge! Put up security for me. Who else will be my sponsor? 4You have closed their minds to understanding, therefore you will not honor them. 5If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail.
6He has made me an object of scorn to the people; I have become a man people spit at. 7My eyes have grown dim from grief, and my whole body has become but a shadow. 8The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent are roused against the godless. 9Yet the righteous person will hold to his way, and the one whose hands are clean will grow stronger. 10But come back and try again, all of you. I will not find a wise man among you.
11My days have slipped by; my plans have been ruined, even the things dear to my heart. 12They turned night into day and made light seem near in the face of darkness. 13If I await Sheol as my home, spread out my bed in darkness, 14and say to corruption, “You are my father,” and to the maggot, “My mother” or “My sister,” 15where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? 16Will it go down to the gates of Sheol, or will we descend together to the dust?
18Chapter
Bildad Speaks
1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2How long until you stop talking? Show some sense, and then we can talk. 3Why are we regarded as cattle, as stupid in your sight? 4You who tear yourself in anger — should the earth be abandoned on your account, or a rock be removed from its place?
5Yes, the light of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow. 6The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him is put out.
7His powerful stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up. 8For his own feet lead him into a net, and he strays into its mesh. 9A trap catches him by the heel; a noose seizes him. 10A rope lies hidden for him on the ground, and a snare waits for him along the path. 11Terrors frighten him on every side and harass him at every step. 12His strength is depleted; disaster lies ready for him to stumble.
13Parts of his skin are eaten away; death’s firstborn consumes his limbs. 14He is ripped from the security of his tent and marched away to the king of terrors. 15Nothing he owned remains in his tent. Burning sulfur is scattered over his home. 16His roots below dry up, and his branches above wither away. 17All memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name anywhere. 18He is driven from light to darkness and chased from the inhabited world. 19He has no children or descendants among his people, no survivor where he used to live. 20Those in the west are appalled at his fate, while those in the east tremble in horror.
21Indeed, such is the dwelling of the unjust man, and this is the place of the one who does not know God.
2How long until you stop talking? Show some sense, and then we can talk. 3Why are we regarded as cattle, as stupid in your sight? 4You who tear yourself in anger — should the earth be abandoned on your account, or a rock be removed from its place?
5Yes, the light of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow. 6The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him is put out.
7His powerful stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up. 8For his own feet lead him into a net, and he strays into its mesh. 9A trap catches him by the heel; a noose seizes him. 10A rope lies hidden for him on the ground, and a snare waits for him along the path. 11Terrors frighten him on every side and harass him at every step. 12His strength is depleted; disaster lies ready for him to stumble.
13Parts of his skin are eaten away; death’s firstborn consumes his limbs. 14He is ripped from the security of his tent and marched away to the king of terrors. 15Nothing he owned remains in his tent. Burning sulfur is scattered over his home. 16His roots below dry up, and his branches above wither away. 17All memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name anywhere. 18He is driven from light to darkness and chased from the inhabited world. 19He has no children or descendants among his people, no survivor where he used to live. 20Those in the west are appalled at his fate, while those in the east tremble in horror.
21Indeed, such is the dwelling of the unjust man, and this is the place of the one who does not know God.
19Chapter
Job’s Reply to Bildad
1Then Job answered:
2How long will you torment me and crush me with words? 3You have humiliated me ten times now, and you mistreat me without shame. 4Even if it is true that I have sinned, my mistake concerns only me. 5If you really want to appear superior to me and would use my disgrace as evidence against me, 6then understand that it is God who has wronged me and caught me in his net. 7I cry out, “Violence!” but get no response; I call for help, but there is no justice. 8He has blocked my way so that I cannot pass through; he has veiled my paths with darkness. 9He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. 10He tears me down on every side so that I am ruined. He uproots my hope like a tree. 11His anger burns against me, and he regards me as one of his enemies. 12His troops advance together; they construct a ramp against me and camp around my tent. 13He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me. 14My relatives stop coming by, and my close friends have forgotten me. 15My house guests and female servants regard me as a stranger; I am a foreigner in their sight. 16I call for my servant, but he does not answer, even if I beg him with my own mouth. 17My breath is offensive to my wife, and my own family finds me repulsive. 18Even young boys scorn me. When I stand up, they mock me. 19All of my best friends despise me, and those I love have turned against me. 20My skin and my flesh cling to my bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth. 21Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy, for God’s hand has struck me. 22Why do you persecute me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?
23I wish that my words were written down, that they were recorded on a scroll 24or were inscribed in stone forever by an iron stylus and lead! 25But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end he will stand on the dust. 26Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh. 27I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.
28If you say, “How will we pursue him, since the root of the problem lies with him?” 29then be afraid of the sword, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.
2How long will you torment me and crush me with words? 3You have humiliated me ten times now, and you mistreat me without shame. 4Even if it is true that I have sinned, my mistake concerns only me. 5If you really want to appear superior to me and would use my disgrace as evidence against me, 6then understand that it is God who has wronged me and caught me in his net. 7I cry out, “Violence!” but get no response; I call for help, but there is no justice. 8He has blocked my way so that I cannot pass through; he has veiled my paths with darkness. 9He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. 10He tears me down on every side so that I am ruined. He uproots my hope like a tree. 11His anger burns against me, and he regards me as one of his enemies. 12His troops advance together; they construct a ramp against me and camp around my tent. 13He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me. 14My relatives stop coming by, and my close friends have forgotten me. 15My house guests and female servants regard me as a stranger; I am a foreigner in their sight. 16I call for my servant, but he does not answer, even if I beg him with my own mouth. 17My breath is offensive to my wife, and my own family finds me repulsive. 18Even young boys scorn me. When I stand up, they mock me. 19All of my best friends despise me, and those I love have turned against me. 20My skin and my flesh cling to my bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth. 21Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy, for God’s hand has struck me. 22Why do you persecute me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?
23I wish that my words were written down, that they were recorded on a scroll 24or were inscribed in stone forever by an iron stylus and lead! 25But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end he will stand on the dust. 26Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh. 27I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.
28If you say, “How will we pursue him, since the root of the problem lies with him?” 29then be afraid of the sword, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.
20Chapter
Zophar Speaks
1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer, because I am upset! 3I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding makes me reply.
4Don’t you know that ever since antiquity, from the time a human was placed on earth, 5the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment? 6Though his arrogance reaches heaven, and his head touches the clouds, 7he will vanish forever like his own dung. Those who know him will ask, “Where is he?” 8He will fly away like a dream and never be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night. 9The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his household will no longer see him. 10His children will beg from the poor, for his own hands must give back his wealth. 11His frame may be full of youthful vigor, but it will lie down with him in dust.
12Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue, 13though he cherishes it and will not let it go but keeps it in his mouth, 14yet the food in his stomach turns into cobras’ venom inside him. 15He swallows wealth but must vomit it up; God will force it from his stomach. 16He will suck the poison of cobras; a viper’s fangs will kill him. 17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and curds. 18He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he doesn’t enjoy the profits from his trading. 19For he oppressed and abandoned the poor; he seized a house he did not build.
20Because his appetite is never satisfied, he does not let anything he desires escape. 21Nothing is left for him to consume; therefore, his prosperity will not last. 22At the height of his success distress will come to him; the full weight of misery will crush him. 23When he fills his stomach, God will send his burning anger against him, raining it down on him while he is eating. 24If he flees from an iron weapon, an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him. 25He pulls it out of his back, the flashing tip out of his liver. Terrors come over him. 26Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned by human hands will consume him; it will feed on what is left in his tent. 27The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. 28The possessions in his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s anger. 29This is the wicked person’s lot from God, the inheritance God ordained for him.
2This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer, because I am upset! 3I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding makes me reply.
4Don’t you know that ever since antiquity, from the time a human was placed on earth, 5the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment? 6Though his arrogance reaches heaven, and his head touches the clouds, 7he will vanish forever like his own dung. Those who know him will ask, “Where is he?” 8He will fly away like a dream and never be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night. 9The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his household will no longer see him. 10His children will beg from the poor, for his own hands must give back his wealth. 11His frame may be full of youthful vigor, but it will lie down with him in dust.
12Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue, 13though he cherishes it and will not let it go but keeps it in his mouth, 14yet the food in his stomach turns into cobras’ venom inside him. 15He swallows wealth but must vomit it up; God will force it from his stomach. 16He will suck the poison of cobras; a viper’s fangs will kill him. 17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and curds. 18He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he doesn’t enjoy the profits from his trading. 19For he oppressed and abandoned the poor; he seized a house he did not build.
20Because his appetite is never satisfied, he does not let anything he desires escape. 21Nothing is left for him to consume; therefore, his prosperity will not last. 22At the height of his success distress will come to him; the full weight of misery will crush him. 23When he fills his stomach, God will send his burning anger against him, raining it down on him while he is eating. 24If he flees from an iron weapon, an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him. 25He pulls it out of his back, the flashing tip out of his liver. Terrors come over him. 26Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned by human hands will consume him; it will feed on what is left in his tent. 27The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. 28The possessions in his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s anger. 29This is the wicked person’s lot from God, the inheritance God ordained for him.
21Chapter
Job’s Reply to Zophar
1Then Job answered:
2Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer. 3Bear with me while I speak; then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.
4As for me, is my complaint against a human being? Then why shouldn’t I be impatient? 5Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth. 6When I think about it, I am terrified and my body trembles in horror. 7Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful? 8Their children are established while they are still alive, and their descendants, before their eyes. 9Their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God strikes them. 10Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry. 11They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about, 12singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute. 13They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. 14Yet they say to God, “Leave us alone! We don’t want to know your ways. 15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him, and what will we gain by pleading with him?” 16But their prosperity is not of their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me!
17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come on them? Does he apportion destruction in his anger? 18Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away? 19God reserves a person’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it. 20Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty’s wrath! 21For what does he care about his family once he is dead, when the number of his months has run out?
22Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges the exalted ones? 23One person dies in excellent health, completely secure and at ease. 24His body is well fed, and his bones are full of marrow. 25Yet another person dies with a bitter soul, having never tasted prosperity. 26But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them.
27I know your thoughts very well, the schemes by which you would wrong me. 28For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house?” and “Where are the tents the wicked lived in?” 29Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don’t you accept their reports? 30Indeed, the evil person is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath. 31Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay him for what he has done? 32He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over his tomb. 33The dirt on his grave is sweet to him. Everyone follows behind him, and those who go before him are without number.
34So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive.
2Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer. 3Bear with me while I speak; then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.
4As for me, is my complaint against a human being? Then why shouldn’t I be impatient? 5Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth. 6When I think about it, I am terrified and my body trembles in horror. 7Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful? 8Their children are established while they are still alive, and their descendants, before their eyes. 9Their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God strikes them. 10Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry. 11They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about, 12singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute. 13They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. 14Yet they say to God, “Leave us alone! We don’t want to know your ways. 15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him, and what will we gain by pleading with him?” 16But their prosperity is not of their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me!
17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come on them? Does he apportion destruction in his anger? 18Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away? 19God reserves a person’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it. 20Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty’s wrath! 21For what does he care about his family once he is dead, when the number of his months has run out?
22Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges the exalted ones? 23One person dies in excellent health, completely secure and at ease. 24His body is well fed, and his bones are full of marrow. 25Yet another person dies with a bitter soul, having never tasted prosperity. 26But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them.
27I know your thoughts very well, the schemes by which you would wrong me. 28For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house?” and “Where are the tents the wicked lived in?” 29Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don’t you accept their reports? 30Indeed, the evil person is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath. 31Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay him for what he has done? 32He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over his tomb. 33The dirt on his grave is sweet to him. Everyone follows behind him, and those who go before him are without number.
34So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive.
22Chapter
Eliphaz Speaks
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2Can a man be of any use to God? Can even a wise man be of use to him? 3Does it delight the Almighty if you are righteous? Does he profit if you perfect your behavior?
4Does he correct you and take you to court because of your piety? 5Isn’t your wickedness abundant and aren’t your iniquities endless? 6For you took collateral from your brothers without cause, stripping off their clothes and leaving them naked. 7You gave no water to the thirsty and withheld food from the famished, 8while the land belonged to a powerful man and an influential man lived on it. 9You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed. 10Therefore snares surround you, and sudden dread terrifies you, 11or darkness, so you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.
12Isn’t God as high as the heavens? And look at the highest stars—how lofty they are! 13Yet you say, “What does God know? Can he judge through total darkness? 14Clouds veil him so that he cannot see, as he walks on the circle of the sky.” 15Will you continue on the ancient path that wicked men have walked? 16They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were washed away by a river. 17They were the ones who said to God, “Leave us alone!” and “What can the Almighty do to us?” 18But it was he who filled their houses with good things. The counsel of the wicked is far from me! 19The righteous see this and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying, 20“Surely our opponents are destroyed, and fire has consumed what they left behind.”
21Come to terms with God and be at peace; in this way good will come to you. 22Receive instruction from his mouth, and place his sayings in your heart. 23If you return to the Almighty, you will be renewed. If you banish injustice from your tent 24and consign your gold to the dust, the gold of Ophir to the stones in the wadis, 25the Almighty will be your gold and your finest silver. 26Then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. 27You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. 28When you make a decision, it will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways. 29When others are humiliated and you say, “Lift them up,” God will save the humble. 30He will even rescue the guilty one, who will be rescued by the purity of your hands.
2Can a man be of any use to God? Can even a wise man be of use to him? 3Does it delight the Almighty if you are righteous? Does he profit if you perfect your behavior?
4Does he correct you and take you to court because of your piety? 5Isn’t your wickedness abundant and aren’t your iniquities endless? 6For you took collateral from your brothers without cause, stripping off their clothes and leaving them naked. 7You gave no water to the thirsty and withheld food from the famished, 8while the land belonged to a powerful man and an influential man lived on it. 9You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed. 10Therefore snares surround you, and sudden dread terrifies you, 11or darkness, so you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.
12Isn’t God as high as the heavens? And look at the highest stars—how lofty they are! 13Yet you say, “What does God know? Can he judge through total darkness? 14Clouds veil him so that he cannot see, as he walks on the circle of the sky.” 15Will you continue on the ancient path that wicked men have walked? 16They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were washed away by a river. 17They were the ones who said to God, “Leave us alone!” and “What can the Almighty do to us?” 18But it was he who filled their houses with good things. The counsel of the wicked is far from me! 19The righteous see this and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying, 20“Surely our opponents are destroyed, and fire has consumed what they left behind.”
21Come to terms with God and be at peace; in this way good will come to you. 22Receive instruction from his mouth, and place his sayings in your heart. 23If you return to the Almighty, you will be renewed. If you banish injustice from your tent 24and consign your gold to the dust, the gold of Ophir to the stones in the wadis, 25the Almighty will be your gold and your finest silver. 26Then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. 27You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. 28When you make a decision, it will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways. 29When others are humiliated and you say, “Lift them up,” God will save the humble. 30He will even rescue the guilty one, who will be rescued by the purity of your hands.
23Chapter
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
1Then Job answered:
2Today also my complaint is bitter. His hand is heavy despite my groaning. 3If only I knew how to find him, so that I could go to his throne. 4I would plead my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. 5I would learn how he would answer me; and understand what he would say to me. 6Would he prosecute me forcefully? No, he would certainly pay attention to me. 7Then an upright man could reason with him, and I would escape from my Judge forever.
8If I go east, he is not there, and if I go west, I cannot perceive him. 9When he is at work to the north, I cannot see him; when he turns south, I cannot find him. 10Yet he knows the way I have taken; when he has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. 11My feet have followed in his tracks; I have kept to his way and not turned aside. 12I have not departed from the commands from his lips; I have treasured the words from his mouth more than my daily food.
13But he is unchangeable; who can oppose him? He does what he desires. 14He will certainly accomplish what he has decreed for me, and he has many more things like these in mind. 15Therefore I am terrified in his presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of him. 16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. 17Yet I am not destroyed by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.
2Today also my complaint is bitter. His hand is heavy despite my groaning. 3If only I knew how to find him, so that I could go to his throne. 4I would plead my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. 5I would learn how he would answer me; and understand what he would say to me. 6Would he prosecute me forcefully? No, he would certainly pay attention to me. 7Then an upright man could reason with him, and I would escape from my Judge forever.
8If I go east, he is not there, and if I go west, I cannot perceive him. 9When he is at work to the north, I cannot see him; when he turns south, I cannot find him. 10Yet he knows the way I have taken; when he has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. 11My feet have followed in his tracks; I have kept to his way and not turned aside. 12I have not departed from the commands from his lips; I have treasured the words from his mouth more than my daily food.
13But he is unchangeable; who can oppose him? He does what he desires. 14He will certainly accomplish what he has decreed for me, and he has many more things like these in mind. 15Therefore I am terrified in his presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of him. 16God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. 17Yet I am not destroyed by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.
24Chapter
1Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment?
Why do those who know him never see his days? 2The wicked displace boundary markers.
They steal a flock and provide pasture for it. 3They drive away the donkeys owned by the fatherless
and take the widow’s ox as collateral. 4They push the needy off the road;
the poor of the land are forced into hiding. 5Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
the poor go out to their task of foraging for food;
the desert provides nourishment for their children. 6They gather their fodder in the field
and glean the vineyards of the wicked. 7Without clothing, they spend the night naked,
having no covering against the cold. 8Drenched by mountain rains,
they huddle against the rocks, shelterless. 9The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast;
the nursing child of the poor is seized as collateral. 10Without clothing, they wander about naked.
They carry sheaves but go hungry. 11They crush olives in their presses;
they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty. 12From the city, men groan;
the mortally wounded cry for help,
yet God pays no attention to this crime.
13The wicked are those who rebel against the light. They do not recognize its ways or stay on its paths. 14The murderer rises at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and by night he becomes a thief. 15The adulterer’s eye watches for twilight, thinking, “No eye will see me,” and he covers his face. 16In the dark they break into houses; by day they lock themselves in, never experiencing the light. 17For the morning is like darkness to them. Surely they are familiar with the terrors of darkness!
18They float on the surface of the water. Their section of the land is cursed, so that they never go to their vineyards. 19As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. 20The womb forgets them; worms feed on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is broken like a tree. 21They prey on the childless woman who is unable to conceive, and do not deal kindly with the widow. 22Yet God drags away the mighty by his power; when he rises up, they have no assurance of life. 23He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it, but his eyes watch over their ways. 24They are exalted for a moment, then gone; they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else. They wither like heads of grain.
25If this is not true, then who can prove me a liar and show that my speech is worthless?
13The wicked are those who rebel against the light. They do not recognize its ways or stay on its paths. 14The murderer rises at dawn to kill the poor and needy, and by night he becomes a thief. 15The adulterer’s eye watches for twilight, thinking, “No eye will see me,” and he covers his face. 16In the dark they break into houses; by day they lock themselves in, never experiencing the light. 17For the morning is like darkness to them. Surely they are familiar with the terrors of darkness!
18They float on the surface of the water. Their section of the land is cursed, so that they never go to their vineyards. 19As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. 20The womb forgets them; worms feed on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is broken like a tree. 21They prey on the childless woman who is unable to conceive, and do not deal kindly with the widow. 22Yet God drags away the mighty by his power; when he rises up, they have no assurance of life. 23He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it, but his eyes watch over their ways. 24They are exalted for a moment, then gone; they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else. They wither like heads of grain.
25If this is not true, then who can prove me a liar and show that my speech is worthless?
25Chapter
Bildad Speaks
1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2Dominion and dread belong to him, the one who establishes harmony in his heights. 3Can his troops be numbered? Does his light not shine on everyone? 4How can a human be justified before God? How can one born of woman be pure? 5If even the moon does not shine and the stars are not pure in his sight, 6how much less a human, who is a maggot, a son of man, who is a worm!
2Dominion and dread belong to him, the one who establishes harmony in his heights. 3Can his troops be numbered? Does his light not shine on everyone? 4How can a human be justified before God? How can one born of woman be pure? 5If even the moon does not shine and the stars are not pure in his sight, 6how much less a human, who is a maggot, a son of man, who is a worm!
26Chapter
Job’s Reply to Bildad
1Then Job answered:
2How you have helped the powerless and delivered the arm that is weak! 3How you have counseled the unwise and abundantly provided insight! 4With whom did you speak these words? Whose breath came out of your mouth?
5The departed spirits tremble beneath the waters and all that inhabit them. 6Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
7He stretches the northern skies over empty space; he hangs the earth on nothing. 8He wraps up the water in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst beneath its weight. 9He obscures the view of his throne, spreading his cloud over it. 10He laid out the horizon on the surface of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness. 11The pillars that hold up the sky tremble, astounded at his rebuke. 12By his power he stirred the sea, and by his understanding he crushed Rahab.
13By his breath the heavens gained their beauty; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. 14These are but the fringes of his ways; how faint is the word we hear of him! Who can understand his mighty thunder?
2How you have helped the powerless and delivered the arm that is weak! 3How you have counseled the unwise and abundantly provided insight! 4With whom did you speak these words? Whose breath came out of your mouth?
5The departed spirits tremble beneath the waters and all that inhabit them. 6Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
7He stretches the northern skies over empty space; he hangs the earth on nothing. 8He wraps up the water in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst beneath its weight. 9He obscures the view of his throne, spreading his cloud over it. 10He laid out the horizon on the surface of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness. 11The pillars that hold up the sky tremble, astounded at his rebuke. 12By his power he stirred the sea, and by his understanding he crushed Rahab.
13By his breath the heavens gained their beauty; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. 14These are but the fringes of his ways; how faint is the word we hear of him! Who can understand his mighty thunder?
27Chapter
1Job continued his discourse, saying:
2As God lives, who has deprived me of justice, and the Almighty who has made me bitter, 3as long as my breath is still in me and the breath from God remains in my nostrils, 4my lips will not speak unjustly, and my tongue will not utter deceit. 5I will never affirm that you are right. I will maintain my integrity until I die. 6I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go. My conscience will not accuse me as long as I live! 7May my enemy be like the wicked and my opponent like the unjust. 8For what hope does the godless person have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? 9Will God hear his cry when distress comes on him? 10Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times? 11I will teach you about God’s power. I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned. 12All of you have seen this for yourselves, why do you keep up this empty talk? 13This is a wicked man’s lot from God, the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty. 14Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword; his descendants will never have enough food. 15Those who survive him will be buried by the plague, yet their widows will not weep for them. 16Though he piles up silver like dust and heaps up fine clothing like clay— 17he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide up his silver. 18The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon or a shelter set up by a watchman. 19He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, it is gone. 20Terrors overtake him like a flood; a storm wind sweeps him away at night. 21An east wind picks him up, and he is gone; it carries him away from his place. 22It blasts at him without mercy, while he flees desperately from its force. 23It claps its hands at him and scoffs at him from its place.
2As God lives, who has deprived me of justice, and the Almighty who has made me bitter, 3as long as my breath is still in me and the breath from God remains in my nostrils, 4my lips will not speak unjustly, and my tongue will not utter deceit. 5I will never affirm that you are right. I will maintain my integrity until I die. 6I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go. My conscience will not accuse me as long as I live! 7May my enemy be like the wicked and my opponent like the unjust. 8For what hope does the godless person have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? 9Will God hear his cry when distress comes on him? 10Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times? 11I will teach you about God’s power. I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned. 12All of you have seen this for yourselves, why do you keep up this empty talk? 13This is a wicked man’s lot from God, the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty. 14Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword; his descendants will never have enough food. 15Those who survive him will be buried by the plague, yet their widows will not weep for them. 16Though he piles up silver like dust and heaps up fine clothing like clay— 17he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide up his silver. 18The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon or a shelter set up by a watchman. 19He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, it is gone. 20Terrors overtake him like a flood; a storm wind sweeps him away at night. 21An east wind picks him up, and he is gone; it carries him away from his place. 22It blasts at him without mercy, while he flees desperately from its force. 23It claps its hands at him and scoffs at him from its place.
28Chapter
A Hymn to Wisdom
1Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined. 2Iron is taken from the ground,
and copper is smelted from ore. 3A miner puts an end to the darkness;
he probes the deepest recesses
for ore in the gloomy darkness. 4He cuts a shaft far from human habitation,
in places unknown to those who walk above ground.
Suspended far away from people,
the miners swing back and forth. 5Food may come from the earth,
but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire. 6Its rocks are a source of lapis lazuli,
containing flecks of gold. 7No bird of prey knows that path;
no falcon’s eye has seen it. 8Proud beasts have never walked on it;
no lion has ever prowled over it. 9The miner uses a flint tool
and turns up ore from the root of the mountains. 10He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eyes spot every treasure. 11He dams up the streams from flowing
so that he may bring to light what is hidden.
12But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located? 13No one can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living. 14The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,” while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.” 15Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price. 16Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or lapis lazuli. 17Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it. 18Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls. 19Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold.
20Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located? 21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky. 22Abaddon and Death say, “We have heard news of it with our ears.” 23But God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows its location. 24For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. 25When God fixed the weight of the wind and distributed the water by measure, 26when he established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning, 27he considered wisdom and evaluated it; he established it and examined it. 28He said to mankind, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.”
12But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located? 13No one can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living. 14The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,” while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.” 15Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price. 16Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or lapis lazuli. 17Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it. 18Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls. 19Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold.
20Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located? 21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky. 22Abaddon and Death say, “We have heard news of it with our ears.” 23But God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows its location. 24For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. 25When God fixed the weight of the wind and distributed the water by measure, 26when he established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning, 27he considered wisdom and evaluated it; he established it and examined it. 28He said to mankind, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.”
29Chapter
Job’s Final Claim of Innocence
1Job continued his discourse, saying:
2If only I could be as in months gone by, in the days when God watched over me, 3when his lamp shone above my head, and I walked through darkness by his light! 4I would be as I was in the days of my youth when God’s friendship rested on my tent, 5when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me, 6when my feet were bathed in curds and the rock poured out streams of oil for me!
7When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the town square, 8the young men saw me and withdrew, while older men stood to their feet. 9City officials stopped talking and covered their mouths with their hands. 10The noblemen’s voices were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. 11When they heard me, they blessed me, and when they saw me, they spoke well of me. 12For I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the fatherless child who had no one to support him. 13The dying blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart rejoice. 14I clothed myself in righteousness, and it enveloped me; my just decisions were like a robe and a turban. 15I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. 16I was a father to the needy, and I examined the case of the stranger. 17I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.
18So I thought, “I will die in my own nest and multiply my days as the sand. 19My roots will have access to water, and the dew will rest on my branches all night. 20My whole being will be refreshed within me, and my bow will be renewed in my hand.”
21Men listened to me with expectation, waiting silently for my advice. 22After a word from me they did not speak again; my speech settled on them like dew. 23They waited for me as for the rain and opened their mouths as for spring showers. 24If I smiled at them, they couldn’t believe it; they were thrilled at the light of my countenance. 25I directed their course and presided as chief. I lived as a king among his troops, like one who comforts those who mourn.
2If only I could be as in months gone by, in the days when God watched over me, 3when his lamp shone above my head, and I walked through darkness by his light! 4I would be as I was in the days of my youth when God’s friendship rested on my tent, 5when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me, 6when my feet were bathed in curds and the rock poured out streams of oil for me!
7When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the town square, 8the young men saw me and withdrew, while older men stood to their feet. 9City officials stopped talking and covered their mouths with their hands. 10The noblemen’s voices were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. 11When they heard me, they blessed me, and when they saw me, they spoke well of me. 12For I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the fatherless child who had no one to support him. 13The dying blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart rejoice. 14I clothed myself in righteousness, and it enveloped me; my just decisions were like a robe and a turban. 15I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. 16I was a father to the needy, and I examined the case of the stranger. 17I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.
18So I thought, “I will die in my own nest and multiply my days as the sand. 19My roots will have access to water, and the dew will rest on my branches all night. 20My whole being will be refreshed within me, and my bow will be renewed in my hand.”
21Men listened to me with expectation, waiting silently for my advice. 22After a word from me they did not speak again; my speech settled on them like dew. 23They waited for me as for the rain and opened their mouths as for spring showers. 24If I smiled at them, they couldn’t believe it; they were thrilled at the light of my countenance. 25I directed their course and presided as chief. I lived as a king among his troops, like one who comforts those who mourn.
30Chapter
1But now they mock me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs. 2What use to me was the strength of their hands?
Their vigor had left them. 3Emaciated from poverty and hunger,
they gnawed the dry land,
the desolate wasteland by night. 4They plucked mallow among the shrubs,
and the roots of the broom tree were their food. 5They were banished from human society;
people shouted at them as if they were thieves. 6They are living on the slopes of the wadis,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground. 7They bray among the shrubs;
they huddle beneath the thistles. 8Foolish men, without even a name.
They were forced to leave the land.
9Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them. 10They despise me and keep their distance from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. 11Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. 12The rabble rise up at my right; they trap my feet and construct their siege ramp against me. 13They tear up my path; they contribute to my destruction, without anyone to help them. 14They advance as through a gaping breach; they keep rolling in through the ruins. 15Terrors are turned loose against me; they chase my dignity away like the wind, and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.
16Now my life is poured out before me, and days of suffering have seized me. 17Night pierces my bones, but my gnawing pains never rest. 18My clothing is distorted with great force; he chokes me by the neck of my garment. 19He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
20I cry out to you for help, but you do not answer me; when I stand up, you merely look at me. 21You have turned against me with cruelty; you harass me with your strong hand. 22You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it; you scatter me in the storm. 23Yes, I know that you will lead me to death— the place appointed for all who live.
24Yet no one would stretch out his hand against a ruined person when he cries out to him for help because of his distress. 25Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Has my soul not grieved for the needy? 26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came. 27I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me. 28I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help. 29I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. 30My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever. 31My lyre is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping.
9Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them. 10They despise me and keep their distance from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. 11Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. 12The rabble rise up at my right; they trap my feet and construct their siege ramp against me. 13They tear up my path; they contribute to my destruction, without anyone to help them. 14They advance as through a gaping breach; they keep rolling in through the ruins. 15Terrors are turned loose against me; they chase my dignity away like the wind, and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.
16Now my life is poured out before me, and days of suffering have seized me. 17Night pierces my bones, but my gnawing pains never rest. 18My clothing is distorted with great force; he chokes me by the neck of my garment. 19He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
20I cry out to you for help, but you do not answer me; when I stand up, you merely look at me. 21You have turned against me with cruelty; you harass me with your strong hand. 22You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it; you scatter me in the storm. 23Yes, I know that you will lead me to death— the place appointed for all who live.
24Yet no one would stretch out his hand against a ruined person when he cries out to him for help because of his distress. 25Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Has my soul not grieved for the needy? 26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came. 27I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me. 28I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help. 29I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. 30My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever. 31My lyre is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping.
31Chapter
1I have made a covenant with my eyes.
How then could I look at a young woman? 2For what portion would I have from God above,
or what inheritance from the Almighty on high? 3Doesn’t disaster come to the unjust
and misfortune to evildoers? 4Does he not see my ways
and number all my steps?
5If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit, 6let God weigh me on accurate scales, and he will recognize my integrity.
7If my step has turned from the way, my heart has followed my eyes, or impurity has stained my hands, 8let someone else eat what I have sown, and let my crops be uprooted.
9If my heart has gone astray over a woman or I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 10let my own wife grind grain for another man, and let other men sleep with her. 11For that would be a disgrace; it would be an iniquity deserving punishment. 12For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon; it would destroy my entire harvest.
13If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants when they made a complaint against me, 14what could I do when God stands up to judge? How should I answer him when he calls me to account? 15Did not the one who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same God form us both in the womb?
16If I have refused the wishes of the poor or let the widow’s eyes go blind, 17if I have eaten my few crumbs alone without letting the fatherless eat any of it— 18for from my youth, I raised him as his father, and since the day I was born I guided the widow— 19if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing or a needy person without a cloak, 20if he did not bless me while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep, 21if I ever cast my vote against a fatherless child when I saw that I had support in the city gate, 22then let my shoulder blade fall from my back, and my arm be pulled from its socket. 23For disaster from God terrifies me, and because of his majesty I could not do these things.
24If I placed my confidence in gold or called fine gold my trust, 25if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great or because my own hand has acquired so much, 26if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining or at the moon moving in splendor, 27so that my heart was secretly enticed and I threw them a kiss, 28this would also be an iniquity deserving punishment, for I would have denied God above.
29Have I rejoiced over my enemy’s distress, or become excited when trouble came his way? 30I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse. 31Haven’t the members of my household said, “Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job’s table?” 32No stranger had to spend the night on the street, for I opened my door to the traveler. 33Have I covered my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart 34because I greatly feared the crowds and because the contempt of the clans terrified me, so I grew silent and would not go outside?
35If only I had someone to hear my case! Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me. Let my Opponent compose his indictment. 36I would surely carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown. 37I would give him an account of all my steps; I would approach him like a prince.
38If my land cries out against me and its furrows join in weeping, 39if I have consumed its produce without payment or shown contempt for its tenants, 40then let thorns grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley. The words of Job are concluded.
5If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit, 6let God weigh me on accurate scales, and he will recognize my integrity.
7If my step has turned from the way, my heart has followed my eyes, or impurity has stained my hands, 8let someone else eat what I have sown, and let my crops be uprooted.
9If my heart has gone astray over a woman or I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 10let my own wife grind grain for another man, and let other men sleep with her. 11For that would be a disgrace; it would be an iniquity deserving punishment. 12For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon; it would destroy my entire harvest.
13If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants when they made a complaint against me, 14what could I do when God stands up to judge? How should I answer him when he calls me to account? 15Did not the one who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same God form us both in the womb?
16If I have refused the wishes of the poor or let the widow’s eyes go blind, 17if I have eaten my few crumbs alone without letting the fatherless eat any of it— 18for from my youth, I raised him as his father, and since the day I was born I guided the widow— 19if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing or a needy person without a cloak, 20if he did not bless me while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep, 21if I ever cast my vote against a fatherless child when I saw that I had support in the city gate, 22then let my shoulder blade fall from my back, and my arm be pulled from its socket. 23For disaster from God terrifies me, and because of his majesty I could not do these things.
24If I placed my confidence in gold or called fine gold my trust, 25if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great or because my own hand has acquired so much, 26if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining or at the moon moving in splendor, 27so that my heart was secretly enticed and I threw them a kiss, 28this would also be an iniquity deserving punishment, for I would have denied God above.
29Have I rejoiced over my enemy’s distress, or become excited when trouble came his way? 30I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse. 31Haven’t the members of my household said, “Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job’s table?” 32No stranger had to spend the night on the street, for I opened my door to the traveler. 33Have I covered my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart 34because I greatly feared the crowds and because the contempt of the clans terrified me, so I grew silent and would not go outside?
35If only I had someone to hear my case! Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me. Let my Opponent compose his indictment. 36I would surely carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown. 37I would give him an account of all my steps; I would approach him like a prince.
38If my land cries out against me and its furrows join in weeping, 39if I have consumed its produce without payment or shown contempt for its tenants, 40then let thorns grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley. The words of Job are concluded.
32Chapter
Elihu’s Angry Response
1So these three men quit answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite from the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justified himself rather than God. 3He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute him and yet had condemned him.
4Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were all older than he. 5But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.
6So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied: I am young in years, while you are old; therefore I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know. 7I thought that age should speak and maturity should teach wisdom. 8But it is the spirit in a person— the breath from the Almighty— that gives anyone understanding. 9It is not only the old who are wise or the elderly who understand how to judge. 10Therefore I say, “Listen to me. I too will declare what I know.” 11Look, I waited for your conclusions; I listened to your insights as you sought for words. 12I paid close attention to you. Yet no one proved Job wrong; not one of you refuted his arguments. 13So do not claim, “We have found wisdom; let God deal with him, not man.” 14But Job has not directed his argument to me, and I will not respond to him with your arguments.
15Job’s friends are dismayed and can no longer answer; words have left them. 16Should I continue to wait now that they are silent, now that they stand there and no longer answer? 17I too will answer; yes, I will tell what I know. 18For I am full of words, and my spirit compels me to speak. 19My heart is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like new wineskins. 20I must speak so that I can find relief; I must open my lips and respond. 21I will be partial to no one, and I will not give anyone an undeserved title. 22For I do not know how to give such titles; otherwise, my Maker would remove me in an instant.
4Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were all older than he. 5But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.
6So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied: I am young in years, while you are old; therefore I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know. 7I thought that age should speak and maturity should teach wisdom. 8But it is the spirit in a person— the breath from the Almighty— that gives anyone understanding. 9It is not only the old who are wise or the elderly who understand how to judge. 10Therefore I say, “Listen to me. I too will declare what I know.” 11Look, I waited for your conclusions; I listened to your insights as you sought for words. 12I paid close attention to you. Yet no one proved Job wrong; not one of you refuted his arguments. 13So do not claim, “We have found wisdom; let God deal with him, not man.” 14But Job has not directed his argument to me, and I will not respond to him with your arguments.
15Job’s friends are dismayed and can no longer answer; words have left them. 16Should I continue to wait now that they are silent, now that they stand there and no longer answer? 17I too will answer; yes, I will tell what I know. 18For I am full of words, and my spirit compels me to speak. 19My heart is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like new wineskins. 20I must speak so that I can find relief; I must open my lips and respond. 21I will be partial to no one, and I will not give anyone an undeserved title. 22For I do not know how to give such titles; otherwise, my Maker would remove me in an instant.
33Chapter
Elihu Confronts Job
1But now, Job, pay attention to my speech,
and listen to all my words. 2I am going to open my mouth;
my tongue will form words on my palate. 3My words come from my upright heart,
and my lips speak with sincerity what they know. 4The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 5Refute me if you can.
Prepare your case against me; take your stand. 6I am just like you before God;
I was also pinched off from a piece of clay. 7Fear of me should not terrify you;
no pressure from me should weigh you down.
8Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard these very words: 9“I am pure, without transgression; I am clean and have no iniquity. 10But he finds reasons to oppose me; he regards me as his enemy. 11He puts my feet in the stocks; he stands watch over all my paths.”
12But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter, since God is greater than man. 13Why do you take him to court for not answering anything a person asks? 14For God speaks time and again, but a person may not notice it. 15In a dream, a vision in the night, when deep sleep comes over people as they slumber on their beds, 16he uncovers their ears and terrifies them with warnings, 17in order to turn a person from his actions and suppress the pride of a person. 18God spares his soul from the Pit, his life from crossing the river of death. 19A person may be disciplined on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones, 20so that he detests bread, and his soul despises his favorite food. 21His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his unseen bones stick out. 22He draws near to the Pit, and his life to the executioners. 23If there is an angel on his side, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what is right for him 24and to be gracious to him and say, “Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom,” 25then his flesh will be healthier than in his youth, and he will return to the days of his youthful vigor. 26He will pray to God, and God will delight in him. That person will see his face with a shout of joy, and God will restore his righteousness to him. 27He will look at men and say, “I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved. 28He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will continue to see the light.” 29God certainly does all these things two or three times to a person 30in order to turn him back from the Pit, so he may shine with the light of life. 31Pay attention, Job, and listen to me. Be quiet, and I will speak. 32But if you have something to say, answer me; speak, for I would like to justify you. 33If not, then listen to me; be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.
8Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard these very words: 9“I am pure, without transgression; I am clean and have no iniquity. 10But he finds reasons to oppose me; he regards me as his enemy. 11He puts my feet in the stocks; he stands watch over all my paths.”
12But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter, since God is greater than man. 13Why do you take him to court for not answering anything a person asks? 14For God speaks time and again, but a person may not notice it. 15In a dream, a vision in the night, when deep sleep comes over people as they slumber on their beds, 16he uncovers their ears and terrifies them with warnings, 17in order to turn a person from his actions and suppress the pride of a person. 18God spares his soul from the Pit, his life from crossing the river of death. 19A person may be disciplined on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones, 20so that he detests bread, and his soul despises his favorite food. 21His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his unseen bones stick out. 22He draws near to the Pit, and his life to the executioners. 23If there is an angel on his side, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what is right for him 24and to be gracious to him and say, “Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom,” 25then his flesh will be healthier than in his youth, and he will return to the days of his youthful vigor. 26He will pray to God, and God will delight in him. That person will see his face with a shout of joy, and God will restore his righteousness to him. 27He will look at men and say, “I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved. 28He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will continue to see the light.” 29God certainly does all these things two or three times to a person 30in order to turn him back from the Pit, so he may shine with the light of life. 31Pay attention, Job, and listen to me. Be quiet, and I will speak. 32But if you have something to say, answer me; speak, for I would like to justify you. 33If not, then listen to me; be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.
34Chapter
1Then Elihu continued, saying:
2Hear my words, you wise ones, and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones. 3Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food? 4Let us judge for ourselves what is right; let us decide together what is good. 5For Job has declared, “I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice. 6Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.” 7What man is like Job? He drinks derision like water. 8He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men. 9For he has said, “A man gains nothing when he becomes God’s friend.”
10Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding. It is impossible for God to do wrong, and for the Almighty to act unjustly. 11For he repays a person according to his deeds, and he gives him what his conduct deserves. 12Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly and the Almighty does not pervert justice. 13Who gave him authority over the earth? Who put him in charge of the entire world? 14If he put his mind to it and withdrew the spirit and breath he gave, 15every living thing would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.
16If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I have to say. 17Could one who hates justice govern the world? Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One, 18who says to a king, “Worthless man!” and to nobles, “Wicked men!”? 19God is not partial to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands. 20They die suddenly in the middle of the night; people shudder, then pass away. Even the mighty are removed without effort.
21For his eyes watch over a man’s ways, and he observes all his steps. 22There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide. 23God does not need to examine a person further, that one should approach him in court. 24He shatters the mighty without an investigation and sets others in their place. 25Therefore, he recognizes their deeds and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed. 26In full view of the public, he strikes them for their wickedness, 27because they turned aside from following him and did not understand any of his ways 28but caused the poor to cry out to him, and he heard the outcry of the needy. 29But when God is silent, who can declare him guilty? When he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he watches over both individuals and nations, 30so that godless men should not rule or ensnare the people.
31Suppose someone says to God, “I have endured my punishment; I will no longer act wickedly. 32Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I won’t do it again.” 33Should God repay you on your terms when you have rejected his? You must choose, not I! So declare what you know. 34Reasonable men will say to me, along with the wise men who hear me, 35“Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.” 36If only Job were tested to the limit, because his answers are like those of wicked men. 37For he adds rebellion to his sin; he scornfully claps in our presence, while multiplying his words against God.
2Hear my words, you wise ones, and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones. 3Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food? 4Let us judge for ourselves what is right; let us decide together what is good. 5For Job has declared, “I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice. 6Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.” 7What man is like Job? He drinks derision like water. 8He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men. 9For he has said, “A man gains nothing when he becomes God’s friend.”
10Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding. It is impossible for God to do wrong, and for the Almighty to act unjustly. 11For he repays a person according to his deeds, and he gives him what his conduct deserves. 12Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly and the Almighty does not pervert justice. 13Who gave him authority over the earth? Who put him in charge of the entire world? 14If he put his mind to it and withdrew the spirit and breath he gave, 15every living thing would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.
16If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I have to say. 17Could one who hates justice govern the world? Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One, 18who says to a king, “Worthless man!” and to nobles, “Wicked men!”? 19God is not partial to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands. 20They die suddenly in the middle of the night; people shudder, then pass away. Even the mighty are removed without effort.
21For his eyes watch over a man’s ways, and he observes all his steps. 22There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide. 23God does not need to examine a person further, that one should approach him in court. 24He shatters the mighty without an investigation and sets others in their place. 25Therefore, he recognizes their deeds and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed. 26In full view of the public, he strikes them for their wickedness, 27because they turned aside from following him and did not understand any of his ways 28but caused the poor to cry out to him, and he heard the outcry of the needy. 29But when God is silent, who can declare him guilty? When he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he watches over both individuals and nations, 30so that godless men should not rule or ensnare the people.
31Suppose someone says to God, “I have endured my punishment; I will no longer act wickedly. 32Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I won’t do it again.” 33Should God repay you on your terms when you have rejected his? You must choose, not I! So declare what you know. 34Reasonable men will say to me, along with the wise men who hear me, 35“Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.” 36If only Job were tested to the limit, because his answers are like those of wicked men. 37For he adds rebellion to his sin; he scornfully claps in our presence, while multiplying his words against God.
35Chapter
1Then Elihu continued, saying:
2Do you think it is just when you say, “I am righteous before God”? 3For you ask, “What does it profit you, and what benefit comes to me, if I do not sin?” 4I will answer you and your friends with you. 5Look at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds high above you. 6If you sin, how does it affect God? If you multiply your transgressions, what does it do to him? 7If you are righteous, what do you give him, or what does he receive from your hand? 8Your wickedness affects a person like yourself, and your righteousness, a son of man. 9People cry out because of severe oppression; they shout for help because of the power of the mighty. 10But no one asks, “Where is God my Maker, who provides us with songs in the night, 11who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?” 12There they cry out, but he does not answer, because of the pride of evil people. 13Indeed, God does not listen to empty cries, and the Almighty does not take note of it— 14how much less when you complain that you do not see him, that your case is before him and you are waiting for him. 15But now, because God’s anger does not punish and he does not pay attention to transgression, 16Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.
2Do you think it is just when you say, “I am righteous before God”? 3For you ask, “What does it profit you, and what benefit comes to me, if I do not sin?” 4I will answer you and your friends with you. 5Look at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds high above you. 6If you sin, how does it affect God? If you multiply your transgressions, what does it do to him? 7If you are righteous, what do you give him, or what does he receive from your hand? 8Your wickedness affects a person like yourself, and your righteousness, a son of man. 9People cry out because of severe oppression; they shout for help because of the power of the mighty. 10But no one asks, “Where is God my Maker, who provides us with songs in the night, 11who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?” 12There they cry out, but he does not answer, because of the pride of evil people. 13Indeed, God does not listen to empty cries, and the Almighty does not take note of it— 14how much less when you complain that you do not see him, that your case is before him and you are waiting for him. 15But now, because God’s anger does not punish and he does not pay attention to transgression, 16Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.
36Chapter
1Then Elihu continued, saying:
2Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you, for there is still more to be said on God’s behalf. 3I will get my knowledge from a distant place and ascribe justice to my Maker. 4Indeed, my words are not false; one who has complete knowledge is with you.
5Yes, God is mighty, but he despises no one; he understands all things. 6He does not keep the wicked alive, but he gives justice to the oppressed. 7He does not withdraw his gaze from the righteous, but he seats them forever with enthroned kings, and they are exalted.
8If people are bound with chains and trapped by the cords of affliction, 9God tells them what they have done and how arrogantly they have transgressed. 10He opens their ears to correction and tells them to repent from iniquity. 11If they listen and serve him, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness. 12But if they do not listen, they will cross the river of death and die without knowledge.
13Those who have a godless heart harbor anger; even when God binds them, they do not cry for help. 14They die in their youth; their life ends among male cult prostitutes. 15God rescues the afflicted by their affliction; he instructs them by their torment.
16Indeed, he lured you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and unconfined place. Your table was spread with choice food. 17Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you. 18Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large ransom lead you astray. 19Can your wealth or all your physical exertion keep you from distress? 20Do not long for the night when nations will disappear from their places. 21Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity, for that is why you have been tested by affliction.
22Look, God shows himself exalted by his power. Who is a teacher like him? 23Who has appointed his way for him, and who has declared, “You have done wrong”? 24Remember that you should praise his work, which people have sung about. 25All mankind has seen it; people have looked at it from a distance. 26Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge; the number of his years cannot be counted. 27For he makes waterdrops evaporate; they distill the rain into its mist, 28which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind. 29Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion? 30See how he spreads his lightning around him and covers the depths of the sea. 31For he judges the nations with these; he gives food in abundance. 32He covers his hands with lightning and commands it to hit its mark. 33The thunder declares his presence; the cattle also, the approaching storm.
2Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you, for there is still more to be said on God’s behalf. 3I will get my knowledge from a distant place and ascribe justice to my Maker. 4Indeed, my words are not false; one who has complete knowledge is with you.
5Yes, God is mighty, but he despises no one; he understands all things. 6He does not keep the wicked alive, but he gives justice to the oppressed. 7He does not withdraw his gaze from the righteous, but he seats them forever with enthroned kings, and they are exalted.
8If people are bound with chains and trapped by the cords of affliction, 9God tells them what they have done and how arrogantly they have transgressed. 10He opens their ears to correction and tells them to repent from iniquity. 11If they listen and serve him, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness. 12But if they do not listen, they will cross the river of death and die without knowledge.
13Those who have a godless heart harbor anger; even when God binds them, they do not cry for help. 14They die in their youth; their life ends among male cult prostitutes. 15God rescues the afflicted by their affliction; he instructs them by their torment.
16Indeed, he lured you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and unconfined place. Your table was spread with choice food. 17Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you. 18Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large ransom lead you astray. 19Can your wealth or all your physical exertion keep you from distress? 20Do not long for the night when nations will disappear from their places. 21Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity, for that is why you have been tested by affliction.
22Look, God shows himself exalted by his power. Who is a teacher like him? 23Who has appointed his way for him, and who has declared, “You have done wrong”? 24Remember that you should praise his work, which people have sung about. 25All mankind has seen it; people have looked at it from a distance. 26Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge; the number of his years cannot be counted. 27For he makes waterdrops evaporate; they distill the rain into its mist, 28which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind. 29Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion? 30See how he spreads his lightning around him and covers the depths of the sea. 31For he judges the nations with these; he gives food in abundance. 32He covers his hands with lightning and commands it to hit its mark. 33The thunder declares his presence; the cattle also, the approaching storm.
37Chapter
1My heart pounds at this
and leaps from my chest. 2Just listen to his thunderous voice
and the rumbling that comes from his mouth. 3He lets it loose beneath the entire sky;
his lightning to the ends of the earth.
4Then there comes a roaring sound; God thunders with his majestic voice. He does not restrain the lightning when his rumbling voice is heard. 5God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend. 6For he says to the snow, “Fall to the earth,” and the torrential rains, his mighty torrential rains, 7serve as his sign to all mankind, so that all men may know his work. 8The wild animals enter their lairs and stay in their dens. 9The windstorm comes from its chamber, and the cold from the driving north winds. 10Ice is formed by the breath of God, and watery expanses are frozen. 11He saturates clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them. 12They swirl about, turning round and round at his direction, accomplishing everything he commands them over the surface of the inhabited world. 13He causes this to happen for punishment, for his land, or for his faithful love.
14Listen to this, Job. Stop and consider God’s wonders. 15Do you know how God directs his clouds or makes their lightning flash? 16Do you understand how the clouds float, those wonderful works of him who has perfect knowledge? 17You whose clothes get hot when the south wind brings calm to the land, 18can you help God spread out the skies as hard as a cast metal mirror? 19Teach us what we should say to him; we cannot prepare our case because of our darkness. 20Should he be told that I want to speak? Can a man speak when he is confused? 21Now no one can even look at the sun after a wind has swept through and cleared the sky. 22Out of the north he comes, shrouded in a golden glow; awesome majesty surrounds him. 23The Almighty—we cannot reach him— he is exalted in power! He will not violate justice and abundant righteousness, 24therefore, men fear him. He does not look favorably on any who are wise in heart.
4Then there comes a roaring sound; God thunders with his majestic voice. He does not restrain the lightning when his rumbling voice is heard. 5God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend. 6For he says to the snow, “Fall to the earth,” and the torrential rains, his mighty torrential rains, 7serve as his sign to all mankind, so that all men may know his work. 8The wild animals enter their lairs and stay in their dens. 9The windstorm comes from its chamber, and the cold from the driving north winds. 10Ice is formed by the breath of God, and watery expanses are frozen. 11He saturates clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them. 12They swirl about, turning round and round at his direction, accomplishing everything he commands them over the surface of the inhabited world. 13He causes this to happen for punishment, for his land, or for his faithful love.
14Listen to this, Job. Stop and consider God’s wonders. 15Do you know how God directs his clouds or makes their lightning flash? 16Do you understand how the clouds float, those wonderful works of him who has perfect knowledge? 17You whose clothes get hot when the south wind brings calm to the land, 18can you help God spread out the skies as hard as a cast metal mirror? 19Teach us what we should say to him; we cannot prepare our case because of our darkness. 20Should he be told that I want to speak? Can a man speak when he is confused? 21Now no one can even look at the sun after a wind has swept through and cleared the sky. 22Out of the north he comes, shrouded in a golden glow; awesome majesty surrounds him. 23The Almighty—we cannot reach him— he is exalted in power! He will not violate justice and abundant righteousness, 24therefore, men fear him. He does not look favorably on any who are wise in heart.
38Chapter
The Lord Speaks
1Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind. He said:
2Who is this who obscures my counsel with ignorant words? 3Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question you, you will inform me. 4Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone 7while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb, 9when I made the clouds its garment and total darkness its blanket, 10when I determined its boundaries and put its bars and doors in place, 11when I declared, “You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here”?
12Have you ever in your life commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place, 13so it may seize the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it? 14The earth is changed as clay is by a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment. 15Light is withheld from the wicked, and the arm raised in violence is broken.
16Have you traveled to the sources of the sea or walked in the depths of the oceans? 17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deep darkness? 18Have you comprehended the extent of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
19Where is the road to the home of light? Do you know where darkness lives, 20so you can lead it back to its border? Are you familiar with the paths to its home? 21Don’t you know? You were already born; you have lived so long! 22Have you entered the place where the snow is stored? Or have you seen the storehouses of hail, 23which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of warfare and battle? 24What road leads to the place where light is dispersed? Where is the source of the east wind that spreads across the earth?
25Who cuts a channel for the flooding rain or clears the way for lightning, 26to bring rain on an uninhabited land, on a desert with no human life, 27to satisfy the parched wasteland and cause the grass to sprout? 28Does the rain have a father? Who fathered the drops of dew? 29Whose womb did the ice come from? Who gave birth to the frost of heaven 30when water becomes as hard as stone, and the surface of the watery depths is frozen?
31Can you fasten the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion? 32Can you bring out the constellations in their season and lead the Bear and her cubs? 33Do you know the laws of heaven? Can you impose its authority on earth? 34Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? 35Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Do they report to you, “Here we are”?
36Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding? 37Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of heaven 38when the dust hardens like cast metal and the clods of dirt stick together?
39Can you hunt prey for a lioness or satisfy the appetite of young lions 40when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait within their lairs? 41Who provides the raven’s food when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
2Who is this who obscures my counsel with ignorant words? 3Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question you, you will inform me. 4Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone 7while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb, 9when I made the clouds its garment and total darkness its blanket, 10when I determined its boundaries and put its bars and doors in place, 11when I declared, “You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here”?
12Have you ever in your life commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place, 13so it may seize the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it? 14The earth is changed as clay is by a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment. 15Light is withheld from the wicked, and the arm raised in violence is broken.
16Have you traveled to the sources of the sea or walked in the depths of the oceans? 17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deep darkness? 18Have you comprehended the extent of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
19Where is the road to the home of light? Do you know where darkness lives, 20so you can lead it back to its border? Are you familiar with the paths to its home? 21Don’t you know? You were already born; you have lived so long! 22Have you entered the place where the snow is stored? Or have you seen the storehouses of hail, 23which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of warfare and battle? 24What road leads to the place where light is dispersed? Where is the source of the east wind that spreads across the earth?
25Who cuts a channel for the flooding rain or clears the way for lightning, 26to bring rain on an uninhabited land, on a desert with no human life, 27to satisfy the parched wasteland and cause the grass to sprout? 28Does the rain have a father? Who fathered the drops of dew? 29Whose womb did the ice come from? Who gave birth to the frost of heaven 30when water becomes as hard as stone, and the surface of the watery depths is frozen?
31Can you fasten the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion? 32Can you bring out the constellations in their season and lead the Bear and her cubs? 33Do you know the laws of heaven? Can you impose its authority on earth? 34Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? 35Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Do they report to you, “Here we are”?
36Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding? 37Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of heaven 38when the dust hardens like cast metal and the clods of dirt stick together?
39Can you hunt prey for a lioness or satisfy the appetite of young lions 40when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait within their lairs? 41Who provides the raven’s food when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
39Chapter
1Do you know when mountain goats give birth?
Have you watched the deer in labor? 2Can you count the months they are pregnant
so you can know the time they give birth? 3They crouch down to give birth to their young;
they deliver their newborn. 4Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field.
They leave and do not return.
5Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from its harness? 6I made the desert its home, and the salty wasteland its dwelling. 7It scoffs at the noise of the village and never hears the shouts of a driver. 8It roams the mountains for its pastureland, searching for anything green. 9Would the wild ox be willing to serve you? Would it spend the night by your feeding trough? 10Can you hold the wild ox to a furrow by its harness? Will it plow the valleys behind you? 11Can you depend on it because its strength is great? Would you leave it to do your hard work? 12Can you trust the wild ox to harvest your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?
13The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but are her feathers and plumage like the stork’s? 14She abandons her eggs on the ground and lets them be warmed in the sand. 15She forgets that a foot may crush them or that some wild animal may trample them. 16She treats her young harshly, as if they were not her own, with no fear that her labor may have been in vain. 17For God has deprived her of wisdom; he has not endowed her with understanding. 18When she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19Do you give strength to the horse? Do you adorn his neck with a mane? 20Do you make him leap like a locust? His proud snorting fills one with terror. 21He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle. 22He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing; he does not run from the sword. 23A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and a javelin. 24He charges ahead with trembling rage; he cannot stand still at the sound of the ram’s horn. 25When the ram’s horn blasts, he snorts defiantly. He smells the battle from a distance; he hears the officers’ shouts and the battle cry.
26Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread its wings to the south? 27Does the eagle soar at your command and make its nest on high? 28It lives on a cliff where it spends the night; its stronghold is on a rocky crag. 29From there it searches for prey; its eyes penetrate the distance. 30Its brood gulps down blood, and where the slain are, it is there.
5Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from its harness? 6I made the desert its home, and the salty wasteland its dwelling. 7It scoffs at the noise of the village and never hears the shouts of a driver. 8It roams the mountains for its pastureland, searching for anything green. 9Would the wild ox be willing to serve you? Would it spend the night by your feeding trough? 10Can you hold the wild ox to a furrow by its harness? Will it plow the valleys behind you? 11Can you depend on it because its strength is great? Would you leave it to do your hard work? 12Can you trust the wild ox to harvest your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?
13The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but are her feathers and plumage like the stork’s? 14She abandons her eggs on the ground and lets them be warmed in the sand. 15She forgets that a foot may crush them or that some wild animal may trample them. 16She treats her young harshly, as if they were not her own, with no fear that her labor may have been in vain. 17For God has deprived her of wisdom; he has not endowed her with understanding. 18When she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19Do you give strength to the horse? Do you adorn his neck with a mane? 20Do you make him leap like a locust? His proud snorting fills one with terror. 21He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle. 22He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing; he does not run from the sword. 23A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and a javelin. 24He charges ahead with trembling rage; he cannot stand still at the sound of the ram’s horn. 25When the ram’s horn blasts, he snorts defiantly. He smells the battle from a distance; he hears the officers’ shouts and the battle cry.
26Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread its wings to the south? 27Does the eagle soar at your command and make its nest on high? 28It lives on a cliff where it spends the night; its stronghold is on a rocky crag. 29From there it searches for prey; its eyes penetrate the distance. 30Its brood gulps down blood, and where the slain are, it is there.
40Chapter
1The Lord answered Job:
2Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who argues with God give an answer.
3Then Job answered the Lord:
4I am so insignificant. How can I answer you? I place my hand over my mouth. 5I have spoken once, and I will not reply; twice, but now I can add nothing.
6Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
7Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question you, you will inform me. 8Would you really challenge my justice? Would you declare me guilty to justify yourself? 9Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like his?
10Adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and clothe yourself with honor and glory. 11Pour out your raging anger; look on every proud person and humiliate him. 12Look on every proud person and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand. 13Hide them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave. 14Then I will confess to you that your own right hand can deliver you.
15Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you. He eats grass like cattle. 16Look at the strength of his back and the power in the muscles of his belly. 17He stiffens his tail like a cedar tree; the tendons of his thighs are woven firmly together. 18His bones are bronze tubes; his limbs are like iron rods. 19He is the foremost of God’s works; only his Maker can draw the sword against him. 20The hills yield food for him, while all sorts of wild animals play there. 21He lies under the lotus plants, hiding in the protection of marshy reeds. 22Lotus plants cover him with their shade; the willows by the brook surround him. 23Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains confident, even if the Jordan surges up to his mouth. 24Can anyone capture him while he looks on, or pierce his nose with snares?
2Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who argues with God give an answer.
3Then Job answered the Lord:
4I am so insignificant. How can I answer you? I place my hand over my mouth. 5I have spoken once, and I will not reply; twice, but now I can add nothing.
6Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
7Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question you, you will inform me. 8Would you really challenge my justice? Would you declare me guilty to justify yourself? 9Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like his?
10Adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and clothe yourself with honor and glory. 11Pour out your raging anger; look on every proud person and humiliate him. 12Look on every proud person and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand. 13Hide them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave. 14Then I will confess to you that your own right hand can deliver you.
15Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you. He eats grass like cattle. 16Look at the strength of his back and the power in the muscles of his belly. 17He stiffens his tail like a cedar tree; the tendons of his thighs are woven firmly together. 18His bones are bronze tubes; his limbs are like iron rods. 19He is the foremost of God’s works; only his Maker can draw the sword against him. 20The hills yield food for him, while all sorts of wild animals play there. 21He lies under the lotus plants, hiding in the protection of marshy reeds. 22Lotus plants cover him with their shade; the willows by the brook surround him. 23Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains confident, even if the Jordan surges up to his mouth. 24Can anyone capture him while he looks on, or pierce his nose with snares?
41Chapter
1Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook
or tie his tongue down with a rope? 2Can you put a cord through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook? 3Will he beg you for mercy
or speak softly to you? 4Will he make a covenant with you
so that you can take him as a slave forever? 5Can you play with him like a bird
or put him on a leash for your girls? 6Will traders bargain for him
or divide him among the merchants? 7Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears? 8Lay a hand on him.
You will remember the battle
and never repeat it! 9Any hope of capturing him proves false.
Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him? 10No one is ferocious enough to rouse Leviathan;
who then can stand against me? 11Who confronted me, that I should repay him?
Everything under heaven belongs to me.
12I cannot be silent about his limbs, his power, and his graceful proportions. 13Who can strip off his outer covering? Who can penetrate his double layer of armor? 14Who can open his jaws, surrounded by those terrifying teeth? 15His pride is in his rows of scales, closely sealed together. 16One scale is so close to another that no air can pass between them. 17They are joined to one another, so closely connected they cannot be separated. 18His snorting flashes with light, while his eyes are like the rays of dawn. 19Flaming torches shoot from his mouth; fiery sparks fly out! 20Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot or burning reeds. 21His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames pour out of his mouth. 22Strength resides in his neck, and dismay dances before him. 23The folds of his flesh are joined together, solid as metal and immovable. 24His heart is as hard as a rock, as hard as a lower millstone! 25When Leviathan rises, the mighty are terrified; they withdraw because of his thrashing. 26The sword that reaches him will have no effect, nor will a spear, dart, or arrow. 27He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. 28No arrow can make him flee; slingstones become like stubble to him. 29A club is regarded as stubble, and he laughs at the sound of a javelin. 30His undersides are jagged potsherds, spreading the mud like a threshing sledge. 31He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron; he makes the sea like an ointment jar. 32He leaves a shining wake behind him; one would think the deep had gray hair! 33He has no equal on earth— a creature devoid of fear! 34He surveys everything that is haughty; he is king over all the proud beasts.
12I cannot be silent about his limbs, his power, and his graceful proportions. 13Who can strip off his outer covering? Who can penetrate his double layer of armor? 14Who can open his jaws, surrounded by those terrifying teeth? 15His pride is in his rows of scales, closely sealed together. 16One scale is so close to another that no air can pass between them. 17They are joined to one another, so closely connected they cannot be separated. 18His snorting flashes with light, while his eyes are like the rays of dawn. 19Flaming torches shoot from his mouth; fiery sparks fly out! 20Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot or burning reeds. 21His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames pour out of his mouth. 22Strength resides in his neck, and dismay dances before him. 23The folds of his flesh are joined together, solid as metal and immovable. 24His heart is as hard as a rock, as hard as a lower millstone! 25When Leviathan rises, the mighty are terrified; they withdraw because of his thrashing. 26The sword that reaches him will have no effect, nor will a spear, dart, or arrow. 27He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. 28No arrow can make him flee; slingstones become like stubble to him. 29A club is regarded as stubble, and he laughs at the sound of a javelin. 30His undersides are jagged potsherds, spreading the mud like a threshing sledge. 31He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron; he makes the sea like an ointment jar. 32He leaves a shining wake behind him; one would think the deep had gray hair! 33He has no equal on earth— a creature devoid of fear! 34He surveys everything that is haughty; he is king over all the proud beasts.
42Chapter
Job Replies to the Lord
1Then Job replied to the Lord:
2I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?” Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. 4You said, “Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.” 5I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. 6Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.
7After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. 8Now take seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. Then my servant Job will pray for you. I will surely accept his prayer and not deal with you as your folly deserves. For you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” 9Then Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
2I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?” Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. 4You said, “Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.” 5I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. 6Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.
7After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. 8Now take seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. Then my servant Job will pray for you. I will surely accept his prayer and not deal with you as your folly deserves. For you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” 9Then Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
God Restores Job
10After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and doubled his previous possessions. 11All his brothers, sisters, and former acquaintances came to him and dined with him in his house. They sympathized with him and comforted him concerning all the adversity the Lord had brought on him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold earring.
12So the Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first. He owned fourteen thousand sheep and goats, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch. 15No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance with their brothers.
16Job lived 140 years after this and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17Then Job died, old and full of days.
12So the Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first. He owned fourteen thousand sheep and goats, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch. 15No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance with their brothers.
16Job lived 140 years after this and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17Then Job died, old and full of days.
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