Job 2:1--13:21

Satan’s Additional Charge

2:1 Again the day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also arrived among them to present himself before the Lord. 2:2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where do you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roving about on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.” 2:3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly to his integrity, so that you stirred me up to destroy him without reason.”

2:4 But Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life! 2:5 But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!”

2:6 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, he is in your power; only preserve his life.”

Job’s Integrity in Suffering

2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted Job with a malignant ulcer from the sole of his feet to the top of his head. 2:8 Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape himself with while he was sitting among the ashes.

2:9 Then his wife said to him, “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God, and die!” 2:10 But he replied, “You’re talking like one of the godless women would do! Should we receive what is good from God, and not also receive what is evil?” In all this Job did not sin by what he said.

The Visit of Job’s Friends

2:11 When Job’s three friends heard about all this calamity that had happened to him, each of them came from his own country – Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to come to show sympathy for him and to console him. 2:12 But when they gazed intently from a distance but did not recognize him, they began to weep loudly. Each of them tore his robes, and they threw dust into the air over their heads. 2:13 Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

II. Job’s Dialogue With His Friends
(3:1-27:33)

Job Regrets His Birth

3:1 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born. 3:2 Job spoke up and said:

3:3 “Let the day on which I was born perish,

and the night that said,

‘A man has been conceived!’

3:4 That day – let it be darkness;

let not God on high regard it,

nor let light shine on it!

3:5 Let darkness and the deepest

shadow claim it;

let a cloud settle on it;

let whatever blackens the day terrify it!

3:6 That night – let darkness seize it;

let it not be included among the days of the year;

let it not enter among the number of the months!

3:7 Indeed, let that night be barren;

let no shout of joy penetrate it!

3:8 Let those who curse the day curse it –

those who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.

3:9 Let its morning stars be darkened;

let it wait for daylight but find none,

nor let it see the first rays of dawn,

3:10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb on me,

nor did it hide trouble from my eyes!

Job Wishes He Had Died at Birth

3:11 “Why did I not die at birth,

and why did I not expire

as I came out of the womb?

3:12 Why did the knees welcome me,

and why were there two breasts

that I might nurse at them?

3:13 For now I would be lying down

and would be quiet,

I would be asleep and then at peace

3:14 with kings and counselors of the earth

who built for themselves places now desolate,

3:15 or with princes who possessed gold,

who filled their palaces with silver.

3:16 Or why was I not buried

like a stillborn infant,

like infants who have never seen the light?

3:17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,

and there the weary are at rest.

3:18 There the prisoners relax together;

they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

3:19 Small and great are there,

and the slave is free from his master.

Longing for Death

3:20 “Why does God give light to one who is in misery,

and life to those whose soul is bitter,

3:21 to those who wait for death that does not come,

and search for it

more than for hidden treasures,

3:22 who rejoice even to jubilation,

and are exultant when they find the grave?

3:23 Why is light given to a man

whose way is hidden,

and whom God has hedged in?

3:24 For my sighing comes in place of my food,

and my groanings flow forth like water.

3:25 For the very thing I dreaded has happened to me,

and what I feared has come upon me.

3:26 I have no ease, I have no quietness;

I cannot rest; turmoil has come upon me.”

Eliphaz Begins to Speak

4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

4:2 “If someone should attempt a word with you,

will you be impatient?

But who can refrain from speaking?

4:3 Look, you have instructed many;

you have strengthened feeble hands.

4:4 Your words have supported those

who stumbled,

and you have strengthened the knees

that gave way.

4:5 But now the same thing comes to you,

and you are discouraged;

it strikes you,

and you are terrified.

4:6 Is not your piety your confidence,

and your blameless ways your hope?

4:7 Call to mind now:

Who, being innocent, ever perished?

And where were upright people ever destroyed?

4:8 Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity

and those who sow trouble reap the same.

4:9 By the breath of God they perish,

and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.

4:10 There is the roaring of the lion

and the growling of the young lion,

but the teeth of the young lions are broken.

4:11 The mighty lion perishes for lack of prey,

and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

Ungodly Complainers Provoke God’s Wrath

4:12 “Now a word was secretly brought to me,

and my ear caught a whisper of it.

4:13 In the troubling thoughts of the dreams in the night

when a deep sleep falls on men,

4:14 a trembling gripped me – and a terror! –

and made all my bones shake.

4:15 Then a breath of air passes by my face;

it makes the hair of my flesh stand up.

4:16 It stands still,

but I cannot recognize its appearance;

an image is before my eyes,

and I hear a murmuring voice:

4:17 “Is a mortal man righteous before God?

Or a man pure before his Creator?

4:18 If God puts no trust in his servants

and attributes folly to his angels,

4:19 how much more to those who live in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed like a moth?

4:20 They are destroyed between morning and evening;

they perish forever without anyone regarding it.

4:21 Is not their excess wealth taken away from them?

They die, yet without attaining wisdom.

5:1 “Call now! Is there anyone who will answer you?

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

5:2 For wrath kills the foolish person,

and anger slays the silly one.

5:3 I myself have seen the fool taking root,

but suddenly I cursed his place of residence.

5:4 His children are far from safety,

and they are crushed at the place where judgment is rendered,

nor is there anyone to deliver them.

5:5 The hungry eat up his harvest,

and take it even from behind the thorns,

and the thirsty swallow up their fortune.

5:6 For evil does not come up from the dust,

nor does trouble spring up from the ground,

5:7 but people are born to trouble,

as surely as the sparks fly upward.

Blessings for the One Who Seeks God

5:8 “But as for me, I would seek God,

and to God I would set forth my case.

5:9 He does great and unsearchable things,

marvelous things without number;

5:10 he gives rain on the earth,

and sends water on the fields;

5:11 he sets the lowly on high,

that those who mourn are raised to safety.

5:12 He frustrates the plans of the crafty

so that their hands cannot accomplish

what they had planned!

5:13 He catches the wise in their own craftiness,

and the counsel of the cunning is brought to a quick end.

5:14 They meet with darkness in the daytime,

and grope about in the noontime as if it were night.

5:15 So he saves from the sword that comes from their mouth,

even the poor from the hand of the powerful.

5:16 Thus the poor have hope,

and iniquity shuts its mouth.

5:17 “Therefore, blessed is the man whom God corrects,

so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

5:18 For he wounds, but he also bandages;

he strikes, but his hands also heal.

5:19 He will deliver you from six calamities;

yes, in seven no evil will touch you.

5:20 In time of famine he will redeem you from death,

and in time of war from the power of the sword.

5:21 You will be protected from malicious gossip,

and will not be afraid of the destruction when it comes.

5:22 You will laugh at destruction and famine

and need not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

5:23 For you will have a pact with the stones of the field,

and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

5:24 And you will know that your home

will be secure,

and when you inspect your domains,

you will not be missing anything.

5:25 You will also know that your children will be numerous,

and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

5:26 You will come to your grave in a full age,

As stacks of grain are harvested in their season.

5:27 Look, we have investigated this, so it is true.

Hear it, and apply it for your own good.”

Job Replies to Eliphaz

6:1 Then Job responded:

6:2 “Oh, if only my grief could be weighed,

and my misfortune laid on the scales too!

6:3 But because it is heavier than the sand of the sea,

that is why my words have been wild.

6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me;

my spirit drinks their poison;

God’s sudden terrors are arrayed against me.

Complaints Reflect Suffering

6:5 “Does the wild donkey bray when it is near grass?

Or does the ox low near its fodder?

6:6 Can food that is tasteless be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

6:7 I have refused to touch such things;

they are like loathsome food to me.

A Cry for Death

6:8 “Oh that my request would be realized,

and that God would grant me what I long for!

6:9 And that God would be willing to crush me,

that he would let loose his hand

and kill me.

6:10 Then I would yet have my comfort,

then I would rejoice,

in spite of pitiless pain,

for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

6:11 What is my strength, that I should wait?

and what is my end,

that I should prolong my life?

6:12 Is my strength like that of stones?

or is my flesh made of bronze?

6:13 Is not my power to help myself nothing,

and has not every resource been driven from me?

Disappointing Friends

6:14 “To the one in despair, kindness should come from his friend

even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

6:15 My brothers have been as treacherous as a seasonal stream,

and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams

that flow away.

6:16 They are dark because of ice;

snow is piled up over them.

6:17 When they are scorched, they dry up,

when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

6:18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;

they go into the wasteland and perish.

6:19 The caravans of Tema looked intently for these streams;

the traveling merchants of Sheba hoped for them.

6:20 They were distressed,

because each one had been so confident;

they arrived there, but were disappointed.

6:21 For now you have become like these streams that are no help;

you see a terror, and are afraid.

Friends’ Fears

6:22 “Have I ever said, ‘Give me something,

and from your fortune make gifts in my favor’?

6:23 Or ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s power,

and from the hand of tyrants ransom me’?

No Sin Discovered

6:24 “Teach me and I, for my part, will be silent;

explain to me how I have been mistaken.

6:25 How painful are honest words!

But what does your reproof prove?

6:26 Do you intend to criticize mere words,

and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?

6:27 Yes, you would gamble for the fatherless,

and auction off your friend.

Other Explanation

6:28 “Now then, be good enough to look at me;

and I will not lie to your face!

6:29 Relent, let there be no falsehood;

reconsider, for my righteousness is intact!

6:30 Is there any falsehood on my lips?

Can my mouth not discern evil things?

The Brevity of Life

7:1 “Does not humanity have hard service on earth?

Are not their days also

like the days of a hired man?

7:2 Like a servant longing for the evening shadow,

and like a hired man looking for his wages,

7:3 thus I have been made to inherit

months of futility,

and nights of sorrow

have been appointed to me.

7:4 If I lie down, I say, ‘When will I arise?’,

and the night stretches on

and I toss and turn restlessly

until the day dawns.

7:5 My body is clothed with worms and dirty scabs;

my skin is broken and festering.

7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle

and they come to an end without hope.

7:7 Remember that my life is but a breath,

that my eyes will never again see happiness.

7:8 The eye of him who sees me now will see me no more;

your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

7:9 As a cloud is dispersed and then disappears,

so the one who goes down to the grave

does not come up again.

7:10 He returns no more to his house,

nor does his place of residence know him any more.

Job Remonstrates with God

7:11 “Therefore, I will not refrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

7:12 Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep,

that you must put me under guard?

7:13 If I say, “My bed will comfort me,

my couch will ease my complaint,”

7:14 then you scare me with dreams

and terrify me with visions,

7:15 so that I would prefer strangling,

and death more than life.

7:16 I loathe it; I do not want to live forever;

leave me alone, for my days are a vapor!

Insignificance of Humans

7:17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,

and that you pay attention to them?

7:18 And that you visit them every morning,

and try them every moment?

7:19 Will you never look away from me,

will you not let me alone

long enough to swallow my spittle?

7:20 If I have sinned – what have I done to you,

O watcher of men?

Why have you set me as your target?

Have I become a burden to you?

7:21 And why do you not pardon my transgression,

and take away my iniquity?

For now I will lie down in the dust,

and you will seek me diligently,

but I will be gone.”

Bildad’s First Speech to Job

8:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:

8:2 “How long will you speak these things,

seeing that the words of your mouth

are like a great wind?

8:3 Does God pervert justice?

Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?

8:4 If your children sinned against him,

he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.

8:5 But if you will look to God,

and make your supplication to the Almighty,

8:6 if you become pure and upright,

even now he will rouse himself for you,

and will restore your righteous abode.

8:7 Your beginning will seem so small,

since your future will flourish.

8:8 “For inquire now of the former generation,

and pay attention to the findings

of their ancestors;

8:9 For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge,

since our days on earth are but a shadow.

8:10 Will they not instruct you and speak to you,

and bring forth words

from their understanding?

8:11 Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh?

Can reeds flourish without water?

8:12 While they are still beginning to flower

and not ripe for cutting,

they can wither away

faster than any grass!

8:13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God;

the hope of the godless perishes,

8:14 whose trust is in something futile,

whose security is a spider’s web.

8:15 He leans against his house but it does not hold up,

he takes hold of it but it does not stand.

8:16 He is a well-watered plant in the sun,

its shoots spread over its garden.

8:17 It wraps its roots around a heap of stones

and it looks for a place among stones.

8:18 If he is uprooted from his place,

then that place will disown him, saying,

‘I have never seen you!’

8:19 Indeed, this is the joy of his way,

and out of the earth others spring up.

8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man,

nor does he grasp the hand

of the evildoers.

8:21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,

and your lips with gladness.

8:22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

Job’s Reply to Bildad

9:1 Then Job answered:

9:2 “Truly, I know that this is so.

But how can a human be just before God?

9:3 If someone wishes to contend with him,

he cannot answer him one time in a thousand.

9:4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength –

who has resisted him and remained safe?

9:5 He who removes mountains suddenly,

who overturns them in his anger;

9:6 he who shakes the earth out of its place

so that its pillars tremble;

9:7 he who commands the sun and it does not shine

and seals up the stars;

9:8 he alone spreads out the heavens,

and treads on the waves of the sea;

9:9 he makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,

and the constellations of the southern sky;

9:10 he does great and unsearchable things,

and wonderful things without number.

9:11 If he passes by me, I cannot see him,

if he goes by, I cannot perceive him.

9:12 If he snatches away, who can turn him back?

Who dares to say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

9:13 God does not restrain his anger;

under him the helpers of Rahab lie crushed.

The Impossibility of Facing God in Court

9:14 “How much less, then, can I answer him

and choose my words to argue with him!

9:15 Although I am innocent,

I could not answer him;

I could only plead with my judge for mercy.

9:16 If I summoned him, and he answered me,

I would not believe

that he would be listening to my voice –

9:17 he who crushes me with a tempest,

and multiplies my wounds for no reason.

9:18 He does not allow me to recover my breath,

for he fills me with bitterness.

9:19 If it is a matter of strength,

most certainly he is the strong one!

And if it is a matter of justice,

he will say, ‘Who will summon me?’

9:20 Although I am innocent,

my mouth would condemn me;

although I am blameless,

it would declare me perverse.

9:21 I am blameless. I do not know myself.

I despise my life.

Accusation of God’s Justice

9:22 “It is all one! That is why I say,

‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’

9:23 If a scourge brings sudden death,

he mocks at the despair of the innocent.

9:24 If a land has been given

into the hand of a wicked man,

he covers the faces of its judges;

if it is not he, then who is it?

Renewed Complaint

9:25 “My days are swifter than a runner,

they speed by without seeing happiness.

9:26 They glide by like reed boats,

like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.

9:27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,

I will change my expression and be cheerful,’

9:28 I dread all my sufferings,

for I know that you do not hold me blameless.

9:29 If I am guilty,

why then weary myself in vain?

9:30 If I wash myself with snow water,

and make my hands clean with lye,

9:31 then you plunge me into a slimy pit

and my own clothes abhor me.

9:32 For he is not a human being like I am,

that I might answer him,

that we might come together in judgment.

9:33 Nor is there an arbiter between us,

who might lay his hand on us both,

9:34 who would take his rod away from me

so that his terror would not make me afraid.

9:35 Then would I speak and not fear him,

but it is not so with me.

An Appeal for Revelation

10:1 “I am weary of my life;

I will complain without restraint;

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

10:2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me;

tell me why you are contending with me.’

10:3 Is it good for you to oppress,

to despise the work of your hands,

while you smile

on the schemes of the wicked?

Motivations of God

10:4 “Do you have eyes of flesh,

or do you see as a human being sees?

10:5 Are your days like the days of a mortal,

or your years like the years of a mortal,

10:6 that you must search out my iniquity,

and inquire about my sin,

10:7 although you know that I am not guilty,

and that there is no one who can deliver

out of your hand?

Contradictions in God’s Dealings

10:8 “Your hands have shaped me and made me,

but now you destroy me completely.

10:9 Remember that you have made me as with the clay;

will you return me to dust?

10:10 Did you not pour me out like milk,

and curdle me like cheese?

10:11 You clothed me with skin and flesh

and knit me together with bones and sinews.

10:12 You gave me life and favor,

and your intervention watched over my spirit.

10:13 “But these things you have concealed in your heart;

I know that this is with you:

10:14 If I sinned, then you would watch me

and you would not acquit me of my iniquity.

10:15 If I am guilty, woe to me,

and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head;

I am full of shame,

and satiated with my affliction.

10:16 If I lift myself up,

you hunt me as a fierce lion,

and again you display your power against me.

10:17 You bring new witnesses against me,

and increase your anger against me;

relief troops come against me.

An Appeal for Relief

10:18 “Why then did you bring me out from the womb?

I should have died

and no eye would have seen me!

10:19 I should have been as though I had never existed;

I should have been carried

right from the womb to the grave!

10:20 Are not my days few?

Cease, then, and leave me alone,

that I may find a little comfort,

10:21 before I depart, never to return,

to the land of darkness

and the deepest shadow,

10:22 to the land of utter darkness,

like the deepest darkness,

and the deepest shadow and disorder,

where even the light is like darkness.”

Zophar’s First Speech to Job

11:1 Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke up and said:

11:2 “Should not this abundance of words be answered,

or should this talkative man

be vindicated?

11:3 Will your idle talk reduce people to silence,

and will no one rebuke you when you mock?

11:4 For you have said, ‘My teaching is flawless,

and I am pure in your sight.’

11:5 But if only God would speak,

if only he would open his lips against you,

11:6 and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom –

for true wisdom has two sides –

so that you would know

that God has forgiven some of your sins.

11:7 “Can you discover the essence of God?

Can you find out

the perfection of the Almighty?

11:8 It is higher than the heavens – what can you do?

It is deeper than Sheol – what can you know?

11:9 Its measure is longer than the earth,

and broader than the sea.

11:10 If he comes by and confines you

and convenes a court,

then who can prevent him?

11:11 For he knows deceitful men;

when he sees evil, will he not consider it?

11:12 But an empty man will become wise,

when a wild donkey’s colt is born a human being.

11:13 “As for you, if you prove faithful,

and if you stretch out your hands toward him,

11:14 if iniquity is in your hand – put it far away,

and do not let evil reside in your tents.

11:15 For then you will lift up your face

without blemish;

you will be securely established

and will not fear.

11:16 For you will forget your trouble;

you will remember it

like water that has flowed away.

11:17 And life will be brighter than the noonday;

though there be darkness,

it will be like the morning.

11:18 And you will be secure, because there is hope;

you will be protected

and will take your rest in safety.

11:19 You will lie down with no one to make you afraid,

and many will seek your favor.

11:20 But the eyes of the wicked fail,

and escape eludes them;

their one hope is to breathe their last.”

Job’s Reply to Zophar

12:1 Then Job answered:

12:2 “Without a doubt you are the people,

and wisdom will die with you.

12:3 I also have understanding as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

Who does not know such things as these?

12:4 I am a laughingstock to my friends,

I, who called on God and whom he answered –

a righteous and blameless man

is a laughingstock!

12:5 For calamity, there is derision

(according to the ideas of the fortunate) –

a fate for those whose feet slip!

12:6 But the tents of robbers are peaceful,

and those who provoke God are confident –

who carry their god in their hands.

Knowledge of God’s Wisdom

12:7 “But now, ask the animals and they will teach you,

or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.

12:8 Or speak to the earth and it will teach you,

or let the fish of the sea declare to you.

12:9 Which of all these does not know

that the hand of the Lord has done this,

12:10 in whose hand is the life of every creature

and the breath of all the human race.

12:11 Does not the ear test words,

as the tongue tastes food?

12:12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?

Does not long life bring understanding?

12:13 “With God are wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his.

12:14 If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt;

if he imprisons a person, there is no escape.

12:15 If he holds back the waters, then they dry up;

if he releases them, they destroy the land.

12:16 With him are strength and prudence;

both the one who goes astray

and the one who misleads are his.

12:17 He leads counselors away stripped

and makes judges into fools.

12:18 He loosens the bonds of kings

and binds a loincloth around their waist.

12:19 He leads priests away stripped

and overthrows the potentates.

12:20 He deprives the trusted advisers of speech

and takes away the discernment of elders.

12:21 He pours contempt on noblemen

and disarms the powerful.

12:22 He reveals the deep things of darkness,

and brings deep shadows into the light.

12:23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;

he extends the boundaries of nations

and disperses them.

12:24 He deprives the leaders of the earth

of their understanding;

he makes them wander

in a trackless desert waste.

12:25 They grope about in darkness without light;

he makes them stagger like drunkards.

Job Pleads His Cause to God

13:1 “Indeed, my eyes have seen all this,

my ears have heard and understood it.

13:2 What you know, I know also;

I am not inferior to you!

13:3 But I wish to speak to the Almighty,

and I desire to argue my case with God.

13:4 But you, however, are inventors of lies;

all of you are worthless physicians!

13:5 If only you would keep completely silent!

For you, that would be wisdom.

13:6 “Listen now to my argument,

and be attentive to my lips’ contentions.

13:7 Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf?

Will you speak deceitfully for him?

13:8 Will you show him partiality?

Will you argue the case for God?

13:9 Would it turn out well if he would examine you?

Or as one deceives a man would you deceive him?

13:10 He would certainly rebuke you

if you secretly showed partiality!

13:11 Would not his splendor terrify you

and the fear he inspires fall on you?

13:12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;

your defenses are defenses of clay.

13:13 “Refrain from talking with me so that I may speak;

then let come to me what may.

13:14 Why do I put myself in peril,

and take my life in my hands?

13:15 Even if he slays me, I will hope in him;

I will surely defend my ways to his face!

13:16 Moreover, this will become my deliverance,

for no godless person would come before him.

13:17 Listen carefully to my words;

let your ears be attentive to my explanation.

13:18 See now, I have prepared my case;

I know that I am right.

13:19 Who will contend with me?

If anyone can, I will be silent and die.

13:20 Only in two things spare me, O God,

and then I will not hide from your face:

13:21 Remove your hand far from me

and stop making me afraid with your terror.