Job 3:1--42:6

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.

13:22 Then call, and I will answer,

or I will speak, and you respond to me.

13:23 How many are my iniquities and sins?

Show me my transgression and my sin.

13:24 Why do you hide your face

and regard me as your enemy?

13:25 Do you wish to torment a windblown leaf

and chase after dry chaff?

13:26 For you write down bitter things against me

and cause me to inherit the sins of my youth.

13:27 And you put my feet in the stocks

and you watch all my movements;

you put marks on the soles of my feet.

13:28 So I waste away like something rotten,

like a garment eaten by moths.

The Brevity of Life

14:1 “Man, born of woman,

lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble.

14:2 He grows up like a flower and then withers away;

he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.

14:3 Do you fix your eye on such a one?

And do you bring me before you for judgment?

14:4 Who can make a clean thing come from an unclean?

No one!

14:5 Since man’s days are determined,

the number of his months is under your control;

you have set his limit and he cannot pass it.

14:6 Look away from him and let him desist,

until he fulfills his time like a hired man.

The Inevitability of Death

14:7 “But there is hope for a tree:

If it is cut down, it will sprout again,

and its new shoots will not fail.

14:8 Although its roots may grow old in the ground

and its stump begins to die in the soil,

14:9 at the scent of water it will flourish

and put forth shoots like a new plant.

14:10 But man dies and is powerless;

he expires – and where is he?

14:11 As water disappears from the sea,

or a river drains away and dries up,

14:12 so man lies down and does not rise;

until the heavens are no more,

they will not awake

nor arise from their sleep.

The Possibility of Another Life

14:13 “O that you would hide me in Sheol,

and conceal me till your anger has passed!

O that you would set me a time

and then remember me!

14:14 If a man dies, will he live again?

All the days of my hard service I will wait

until my release comes.

14:15 You will call and I – I will answer you;

you will long for the creature you have made.

The Present Condition

14:16 “Surely now you count my steps;

then you would not mark my sin.

14:17 My offenses would be sealed up in a bag;

you would cover over my sin.

14:18 But as a mountain falls away and crumbles,

and as a rock will be removed from its place,

14:19 as water wears away stones,

and torrents wash away the soil,

so you destroy man’s hope.

14:20 You overpower him once for all,

and he departs;

you change his appearance

and send him away.

14:21 If his sons are honored,

he does not know it;

if they are brought low,

he does not see it.

14:22 Only his flesh has pain for himself,

and he mourns for himself.”

Eliphaz’s Second Speech

15:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

15:2 “Does a wise man answer with blustery knowledge,

or fill his belly with the east wind?

15:3 Does he argue with useless talk,

with words that have no value in them?

15:4 But you even break off piety,

and hinder meditation before God.

15:5 Your sin inspires your mouth;

you choose the language of the crafty.

15:6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I;

your own lips testify against you.

15:7 “Were you the first man ever born?

Were you brought forth before the hills?

15:8 Do you listen in on God’s secret council?

Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

15:9 What do you know that we don’t know?

What do you understand that we don’t understand?

15:10 The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,

men far older than your father.

15:11 Are God’s consolations too trivial for you;

or a word spoken in gentleness to you?

15:12 Why has your heart carried you away,

and why do your eyes flash,

15:13 when you turn your rage against God

and allow such words to escape from your mouth?

15:14 What is man that he should be pure,

or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

15:15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,

if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,

15:16 how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt,

who drinks in evil like water!

15:17 “I will explain to you;

listen to me,

and what I have seen, I will declare,

15:18 what wise men declare,

hiding nothing,

from the tradition of their ancestors,

15:19 to whom alone the land was given

when no foreigner passed among them.

15:20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,

throughout the number of the years

that are stored up for the tyrant.

15:21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;

in a time of peace marauders attack him.

15:22 He does not expect to escape from darkness;

he is marked for the sword;

15:23 he wanders about – food for vultures;

he knows that the day of darkness is at hand.

15:24 Distress and anguish terrify him;

they prevail against him

like a king ready to launch an attack,

15:25 for he stretches out his hand against God,

and vaunts himself against the Almighty,

15:26 defiantly charging against him

with a thick, strong shield!

15:27 Because he covered his face with fat,

and made his hips bulge with fat,

15:28 he lived in ruined towns

and in houses where no one lives,

where they are ready to crumble into heaps.

15:29 He will not grow rich,

and his wealth will not endure,

nor will his possessions spread over the land.

15:30 He will not escape the darkness;

a flame will wither his shoots

and he will depart

by the breath of God’s mouth.

15:31 Let him not trust in what is worthless,

deceiving himself;

for worthlessness will be his reward.

15:32 Before his time he will be paid in full,

and his branches will not flourish.

15:33 Like a vine he will let his sour grapes fall,

and like an olive tree

he will shed his blossoms.

15:34 For the company of the godless is barren,

and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes.

15:35 They conceive trouble and bring forth evil;

their belly prepares deception.”

Job’s Reply to Eliphaz

16:1 Then Job replied:

16:2 “I have heard many things like these before.

What miserable comforters are you all!

16:3 Will there be an end to your windy words?

Or what provokes you that you answer?

16:4 I also could speak like you,

if you were in my place;

I could pile up words against you

and I could shake my head at you.

16:5 But I would strengthen you with my words;

comfort from my lips would bring you relief.

Abandonment by God and Man

16:6 “But if I speak, my pain is not relieved,

and if I refrain from speaking

– how much of it goes away?

16:7 Surely now he has worn me out,

you have devastated my entire household.

16:8 You have seized me,

and it has become a witness;

my leanness has risen up against me

and testifies against me.

16:9 His anger has torn me and persecuted me;

he has gnashed at me with his teeth;

my adversary locks his eyes on me.

16:10 People have opened their mouths against me,

they have struck my cheek in scorn;

they unite together against me.

16:11 God abandons me to evil men,

and throws me into the hands of wicked men.

16:12 I was in peace, and he has shattered me.

He has seized me by the neck and crushed me.

He has made me his target;

16:13 his archers surround me.

Without pity he pierces my kidneys

and pours out my gall on the ground.

16:14 He breaks through against me, time and time again;

he rushes against me like a warrior.

16:15 I have sewed sackcloth on my skin,

and buried my horn in the dust;

16:16 my face is reddened because of weeping,

and on my eyelids there is a deep darkness,

16:17 although there is no violence in my hands

and my prayer is pure.

An Appeal to God as Witness

16:18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,

nor let there be a secret place for my cry.

16:19 Even now my witness is in heaven;

my advocate is on high.

16:20 My intercessor is my friend

as my eyes pour out tears to God;

16:21 and he contends with God on behalf of man

as a man pleads for his friend.

16:22 For the years that lie ahead are few,

and then I will go on the way of no return.

17:1 My spirit is broken,

my days have faded out,

the grave awaits me.

17:2 Surely mockery is with me;

my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

17:3 Make then my pledge with you.

Who else will put up security for me?

17:4 Because you have closed their minds to understanding,

therefore you will not exalt them.

17:5 If a man denounces his friends for personal gain,

the eyes of his children will fail.

17:6 He has made me a byword to people,

I am the one in whose face they spit.

17:7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;

my whole frame is but a shadow.

17:8 Upright men are appalled at this;

the innocent man is troubled with the godless.

17:9 But the righteous man holds to his way,

and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

Anticipation of Death

17:10 “But turn, all of you, and come now!

I will not find a wise man among you.

17:11 My days have passed, my plans are shattered,

even the desires of my heart.

17:12 These men change night into day;

they say, ‘The light is near

in the face of darkness.’

17:13 If I hope for the grave to be my home,

if I spread out my bed in darkness,

17:14 If I cry to corruption, ‘You are my father,’

and to the worm, ‘My Mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

17:15 where then is my hope?

And my hope, who sees it?

17:16 Will it go down to the barred gates of death?

Will we descend together into the dust?”

Bildad’s Second Speech

18:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:

18:2 “How long until you make an end of words?

You must consider, and then we can talk.

18:3 Why should we be regarded as beasts,

and considered stupid in your sight?

18:4 You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger,

will the earth be abandoned for your sake?

Or will a rock be moved from its place?

18:5 “Yes, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished;

his flame of fire does not shine.

18:6 The light in his tent grows dark;

his lamp above him is extinguished.

18:7 His vigorous steps are restricted,

and his own counsel throws him down.

18:8 For he has been thrown into a net by his feet

and he wanders into a mesh.

18:9 A trap seizes him by the heel;

a snare grips him.

18:10 A rope is hidden for him on the ground

and a trap for him lies on the path.

18:11 Terrors frighten him on all sides

and dog his every step.

18:12 Calamity is hungry for him,

and misfortune is ready at his side.

18:13 It eats away parts of his skin;

the most terrible death devours his limbs.

18:14 He is dragged from the security of his tent,

and marched off to the king of terrors.

18:15 Fire resides in his tent;

over his residence burning sulfur is scattered.

18:16 Below his roots dry up,

and his branches wither above.

18:17 His memory perishes from the earth,

he has no name in the land.

18:18 He is driven from light into darkness

and is banished from the world.

18:19 He has neither children nor descendants among his people,

no survivor in those places he once stayed.

18:20 People of the west are appalled at his fate;

people of the east are seized with horror, saying,

18:21 ‘Surely such is the residence of an evil man;

and this is the place of one who has not known God.’”

Job’s Reply to Bildad

19:1 Then Job answered:

19:2 “How long will you torment me

and crush me with your words?

19:3 These ten times you have been reproaching me;

you are not ashamed to attack me!

19:4 But even if it were true that I have erred,

my error remains solely my concern!

19:5 If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me

and plead my disgrace against me,

19:6 know then that God has wronged me

and encircled me with his net.

Job’s Abandonment and Affliction

19:7 “If I cry out, ‘Violence!’

I receive no answer;

I cry for help,

but there is no justice.

19:8 He has blocked my way so I cannot pass,

and has set darkness over my paths.

19:9 He has stripped me of my honor

and has taken the crown off my head.

19:10 He tears me down on every side until I perish;

he uproots my hope like one uproots a tree.

19:11 Thus his anger burns against me,

and he considers me among his enemies.

19:12 His troops advance together;

they throw up a siege ramp against me,

and they camp around my tent.

Job’s Forsaken State

19:13 “He has put my relatives far from me;

my acquaintances only turn away from me.

19:14 My kinsmen have failed me;

my friends have forgotten me.

19:15 My guests and my servant girls

consider me a stranger;

I am a foreigner in their eyes.

19:16 I summon my servant, but he does not respond,

even though I implore him with my own mouth.

19:17 My breath is repulsive to my wife;

I am loathsome to my brothers.

19:18 Even youngsters have scorned me;

when I get up, they scoff at me.

19:19 All my closest friends detest me;

and those whom I love have turned against me.

19:20 My bones stick to my skin and my flesh;

I have escaped alive with only the skin of my teeth.

19:21 Have pity on me, my friends, have pity on me,

for the hand of God has struck me.

19:22 Why do you pursue me like God does?

Will you never be satiated with my flesh?

Job’s Assurance of Vindication

19:23 “O that my words were written down,

O that they were written on a scroll,

19:24 that with an iron chisel and with lead

they were engraved in a rock forever!

19:25 As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that as the last

he will stand upon the earth.

19:26 And after my skin has been destroyed,

yet in my flesh I will see God,

19:27 whom I will see for myself,

and whom my own eyes will behold,

and not another.

My heart grows faint within me.

19:28 If you say, ‘How we will pursue him,

since the root of the trouble is found in him!’

19:29 Fear the sword yourselves,

for wrath brings the punishment by the sword,

so that you may know

that there is judgment.”

Zophar’s Second Speech

20:1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:

20:2 “This is why my troubled thoughts bring me back –

because of my feelings within me.

20:3 When I hear a reproof that dishonors me,

then my understanding prompts me to answer.

20:4 “Surely you know that it has been from old,

ever since humankind was placed on the earth,

20:5 that the elation of the wicked is brief,

the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

20:6 Even though his stature reaches to the heavens

and his head touches the clouds,

20:7 he will perish forever, like his own excrement;

those who used to see him will say, ‘Where is he?’

20:8 Like a dream he flies away, never again to be found,

and like a vision of the night he is put to flight.

20:9 People who had seen him will not see him again,

and the place where he was

will recognize him no longer.

20:10 His sons must recompense the poor;

his own hands must return his wealth.

20:11 His bones were full of his youthful vigor,

but that vigor will lie down with him in the dust.

20:12 “If evil is sweet in his mouth

and he hides it under his tongue,

20:13 if he retains it for himself

and does not let it go,

and holds it fast in his mouth,

20:14 his food is turned sour in his stomach;

it becomes the venom of serpents within him.

20:15 The wealth that he consumed he vomits up,

God will make him throw it out of his stomach.

20:16 He sucks the poison of serpents;

the fangs of a viper kill him.

20:17 He will not look on the streams,

the rivers, which are the torrents

of honey and butter.

20:18 He gives back the ill-gotten gain

without assimilating it;

he will not enjoy the wealth from his commerce.

20:19 For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them;

he has seized a house which he did not build.

20:20 For he knows no satisfaction in his appetite;

he does not let anything he desires escape.

20:21 “Nothing is left for him to devour;

that is why his prosperity does not last.

20:22 In the fullness of his sufficiency,

distress overtakes him.

the full force of misery will come upon him.

20:23 “While he is filling his belly,

God sends his burning anger against him,

and rains down his blows upon him.

20:24 If he flees from an iron weapon,

then an arrow from a bronze bow pierces him.

20:25 When he pulls it out and it comes out of his back,

the gleaming point out of his liver,

terrors come over him.

20:26 Total darkness waits to receive his treasures;

a fire which has not been kindled

will consume him

and devour what is left in his tent.

20:27 The heavens reveal his iniquity;

the earth rises up against him.

20:28 A flood will carry off his house,

rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath.

20:29 Such is the lot God allots the wicked,

and the heritage of his appointment from God.”

Job’s Reply to Zophar

21:1 Then Job answered:

21:2 “Listen carefully to my words;

let this be the consolation you offer me.

21:3 Bear with me and I will speak,

and after I have spoken you may mock.

21:4 Is my complaint against a man?

If so, why should I not be impatient?

21:5 Look at me and be appalled;

put your hands over your mouths.

21:6 For, when I think about this, I am terrified

and my body feels a shudder.

The Wicked Prosper

21:7 “Why do the wicked go on living,

grow old, even increase in power?

21:8 Their children are firmly established

in their presence,

their offspring before their eyes.

21:9 Their houses are safe and without fear;

and no rod of punishment from God is upon them.

21:10 Their bulls breed without fail;

their cows calve and do not miscarry.

21:11 They allow their children to run like a flock;

their little ones dance about.

21:12 They sing to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp,

and make merry to the sound of the flute.

21:13 They live out their years in prosperity

and go down to the grave in peace.

21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!

We do not want to know your ways.

21:15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?

What would we gain

if we were to pray to him?’

21:16 But their prosperity is not their own doing.

The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

How Often Do the Wicked Suffer?

21:17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked extinguished?

How often does their misfortune come upon them?

How often does God apportion pain to them in his anger?

21:18 How often are they like straw before the wind,

and like chaff swept away by a whirlwind?

21:19 You may say, ‘God stores up a man’s punishment for his children!’

Instead let him repay the man himself

so that he may know it!

21:20 Let his own eyes see his destruction;

let him drink of the anger of the Almighty.

21:21 For what is his interest in his home

after his death,

when the number of his months

has been broken off?

21:22 Can anyone teach God knowledge,

since he judges those that are on high?

Death Levels Everything

21:23 “One man dies in his full vigor,

completely secure and prosperous,

21:24 his body well nourished,

and the marrow of his bones moist.

21:25 And another man dies in bitterness of soul,

never having tasted anything good.

21:26 Together they lie down in the dust,

and worms cover over them both.

Futile Words, Deceptive Answers

21:27 “Yes, I know what you are thinking,

the schemes by which you would wrong me.

21:28 For you say,

‘Where now is the nobleman’s house,

and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?’

21:29 Have you never questioned those who travel the roads?

Do you not recognize their accounts –

21:30 that the evil man is spared

from the day of his misfortune,

that he is delivered

from the day of God’s wrath?

21:31 No one denounces his conduct to his face;

no one repays him for what he has done.

21:32 And when he is carried to the tombs,

and watch is kept over the funeral mound,

21:33 The clods of the torrent valley are sweet to him;

behind him everybody follows in procession,

and before him goes a countless throng.

21:34 So how can you console me with your futile words?

Nothing is left of your answers but deception!”

Eliphaz’s Third Speech

22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

22:2 “Is it to God that a strong man is of benefit?

Is it to him that even a wise man is profitable?

22:3 Is it of any special benefit to the Almighty

that you should be righteous,

or is it any gain to him

that you make your ways blameless?

22:4 Is it because of your piety that he rebukes you

and goes to judgment with you?

22:5 Is not your wickedness great

and is there no end to your iniquity?

22:6 “For you took pledges from your brothers

for no reason,

and you stripped the clothing from the naked.

22:7 You gave the weary no water to drink

and from the hungry you withheld food.

22:8 Although you were a powerful man, owning land,

an honored man living on it,

22:9 you sent widows away empty-handed,

and the arms of the orphans you crushed.

22:10 That is why snares surround you,

and why sudden fear terrifies you,

22:11 why it is so dark you cannot see,

and why a flood of water covers you.

22:12 “Is not God on high in heaven?

And see the lofty stars, how high they are!

22:13 But you have said, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such deep darkness?

22:14 Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us,

as he goes back and forth

in the vault of heaven.’

22:15 Will you keep to the old path

that evil men have walked –

22:16 men who were carried off before their time,

when the flood was poured out

on their foundations?

22:17 They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’

and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’

22:18 But it was he who filled their houses

with good things –

yet the counsel of the wicked

was far from me.

22:19 The righteous see their destruction and rejoice;

the innocent mock them scornfully, saying,

22:20 ‘Surely our enemies are destroyed,

and fire consumes their wealth.’

22:21 “Reconcile yourself with God,

and be at peace with him;

in this way your prosperity will be good.

22:22 Accept instruction from his mouth

and store up his words in your heart.

22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;

if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,

22:24 and throw your gold in the dust –

your gold of Ophir

among the rocks in the ravines –

22:25 then the Almighty himself will be your gold,

and the choicest silver for you.

22:26 Surely then you will delight yourself in the Almighty,

and will lift up your face toward God.

22:27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him.

22:28 Whatever you decide on a matter,

it will be established for you,

and light will shine on your ways.

22:29 When people are brought low and you say

‘Lift them up!’

then he will save the downcast;

22:30 he will deliver even someone who is not innocent,

who will escape through the cleanness of your hands.”

Job’s Reply to Eliphaz

23:1 Then Job answered:

23:2 “Even today my complaint is still bitter;

his hand is heavy despite my groaning.

23:3 O that I knew where I might find him,

that I could come to his place of residence!

23:4 I would lay out my case before him

and fill my mouth with arguments.

23:5 I would know with what words he would answer me,

and understand what he would say to me.

23:6 Would he contend with me with great power?

No, he would only pay attention to me.

23:7 There an upright person

could present his case before him,

and I would be delivered forever from my judge.

The Inaccessibility and Power of God

23:8 “If I go to the east, he is not there,

and to the west, yet I do not perceive him.

23:9 In the north when he is at work,

I do not see him;

when he turns to the south,

I see no trace of him.

23:10 But he knows the pathway that I take;

if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.

23:11 My feet have followed his steps closely;

I have kept to his way and have not turned aside.

23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion.

23:13 But he is unchangeable, and who can change him?

Whatever he has desired, he does.

23:14 For he fulfills his decree against me,

and many such things are his plans.

23:15 That is why I am terrified in his presence;

when I consider, I am afraid because of him.

23:16 Indeed, God has made my heart faint;

the Almighty has terrified me.

23:17 Yet I have not been silent because of the darkness,

because of the thick darkness

that covered my face.

The Apparent Indifference of God

24:1 “Why are times not appointed by the Almighty?

Why do those who know him not see his days?

24:2 Men move boundary stones;

they seize the flock and pasture them.

24:3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey;

they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.

24:4 They turn the needy from the pathway,

and the poor of the land hide themselves together.

24:5 Like wild donkeys in the desert

they go out to their labor,

seeking diligently for food;

the wasteland provides food for them

and for their children.

24:6 They reap fodder in the field,

and glean in the vineyard of the wicked.

24:7 They spend the night naked because they lack clothing;

they have no covering against the cold.

24:8 They are soaked by mountain rains

and huddle in the rocks because they lack shelter.

24:9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast,

the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge.

24:10 They go about naked, without clothing,

and go hungry while they carry the sheaves.

24:11 They press out the olive oil between the rows of olive trees;

they tread the winepresses while they are thirsty.

24:12 From the city the dying groan,

and the wounded cry out for help,

but God charges no one with wrongdoing.

24:13 There are those who rebel against the light;

they do not know its ways

and they do not stay on its paths.

24:14 Before daybreak the murderer rises up;

he kills the poor and the needy;

in the night he is like a thief.

24:15 And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight,

thinking, ‘No eye can see me,’

and covers his face with a mask.

24:16 In the dark the robber breaks into houses,

but by day they shut themselves in;

they do not know the light.

24:17 For all of them, the morning is to them

like deep darkness;

they are friends with the terrors of darkness.

24:18 “You say, ‘He is foam on the face of the waters;

their portion of the land is cursed

so that no one goes to their vineyard.

24:19 The drought as well as the heat carry away

the melted snow;

so the grave takes away those who have sinned.

24:20 The womb forgets him,

the worm feasts on him,

no longer will he be remembered.

Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down.

24:21 He preys on the barren and childless woman,

and does not treat the widow well.

24:22 But God drags off the mighty by his power;

when God rises up against him, he has no faith in his life.

24:23 God may let them rest in a feeling of security,

but he is constantly watching all their ways.

24:24 They are exalted for a little while,

and then they are gone,

they are brought low like all others,

and gathered in,

and like a head of grain they are cut off.’

24:25 “If this is not so, who can prove me a liar

and reduce my words to nothing?”

Bildad’s Third Speech

25:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:

25:2 “Dominion and awesome might belong to God;

he establishes peace in his heights.

25:3 Can his armies be numbered?

On whom does his light not rise?

25:4 How then can a human being be righteous before God?

How can one born of a woman be pure?

25:5 If even the moon is not bright,

and the stars are not pure as far as he is concerned,

25:6 how much less a mortal man, who is but a maggot –

a son of man, who is only a worm!”

Job’s Reply to Bildad

26:1 Then Job replied:

26:2 “How you have helped the powerless!

How you have saved the person who has no strength!

26:3 How you have advised the one without wisdom,

and abundantly revealed your insight!

26:4 To whom did you utter these words?

And whose spirit has come forth from your mouth?

A Better Description of God’s Greatness

26:5 “The dead tremble –

those beneath the waters

and all that live in them.

26:6 The underworld is naked before God;

the place of destruction lies uncovered.

26:7 He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;

he suspends the earth on nothing.

26:8 He locks the waters in his clouds,

and the clouds do not burst with the weight of them.

26:9 He conceals the face of the full moon,

shrouding it with his clouds.

26:10 He marks out the horizon on the surface of the waters

as a boundary between light and darkness.

26:11 The pillars of the heavens tremble

and are amazed at his rebuke.

26:12 By his power he stills the sea;

by his wisdom he cut Rahab the great sea monster to pieces.

26:13 By his breath the skies became fair;

his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

26:14 Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways!

How faint is the whisper we hear of him!

But who can understand the thunder of his power?”

A Protest of Innocence

27:1 And Job took up his discourse again:

27:2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,

the Almighty, who has made my life bitter –

27:3 for while my spirit is still in me,

and the breath from God is in my nostrils,

27:4 my lips will not speak wickedness,

and my tongue will whisper no deceit.

27:5 I will never declare that you three are in the right;

until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!

27:6 I will maintain my righteousness

and never let it go;

my conscience will not reproach me

for as long as I live.

The Condition of the Wicked

27:7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,

my adversary like the unrighteous.

27:8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off,

when God takes away his life?

27:9 Does God listen to his cry

when distress overtakes him?

27:10 Will he find delight in the Almighty?

Will he call out to God at all times?

27:11 I will teach you about the power of God;

What is on the Almighty’s mind I will not conceal.

27:12 If you yourselves have all seen this,

Why in the world do you continue this meaningless talk?

27:13 This is the portion of the wicked man

allotted by God,

the inheritance that evildoers receive

from the Almighty.

27:14 If his children increase – it is for the sword!

His offspring never have enough to eat.

27:15 Those who survive him are buried by the plague,

and their widows do not mourn for them.

27:16 If he piles up silver like dust

and stores up clothing like mounds of clay,

27:17 what he stores up a righteous man will wear,

and an innocent man will inherit his silver.

27:18 The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon,

like a hut that a watchman has made.

27:19 He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more.

When he opens his eyes, it is all gone.

27:20 Terrors overwhelm him like a flood;

at night a whirlwind carries him off.

27:21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;

it sweeps him out of his place.

27:22 It hurls itself against him without pity

as he flees headlong from its power.

27:23 It claps its hands at him in derision

and hisses him away from his place.

III. Job’s Search for Wisdom (28:1-28)

No Known Road to Wisdom

28:1 “Surely there is a mine for silver,

and a place where gold is refined.

28:2 Iron is taken from the ground,

and rock is poured out as copper.

28:3 Man puts an end to the darkness;

he searches the farthest recesses

for the ore in the deepest darkness.

28:4 Far from where people live he sinks a shaft,

in places travelers have long forgotten,

far from other people he dangles and sways.

28:5 The earth, from which food comes,

is overturned below as though by fire;

28:6 a place whose stones are sapphires

and which contains dust of gold;

28:7 a hidden path no bird of prey knows –

no falcon’s eye has spotted it.

28:8 Proud beasts have not set foot on it,

and no lion has passed along it.

28:9 On the flinty rock man has set to work with his hand;

he has overturned mountains at their bases.

28:10 He has cut out channels through the rocks;

his eyes have spotted every precious thing.

28:11 He has searched the sources of the rivers

and what was hidden he has brought into the light.

No Price Can Buy Wisdom

28:12 “But wisdom – where can it be found?

Where is the place of understanding?

28:13 Mankind does not know its place;

it cannot be found in the land of the living.

28:14 The deep says, ‘It is not with me.’

And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

28:15 Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it,

nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

28:16 It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir,

with precious onyx or sapphires.

28:17 Neither gold nor crystal can be compared with it,

nor can a vase of gold match its worth.

28:18 Of coral and jasper no mention will be made;

the price of wisdom is more than pearls.

28:19 The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it;

it cannot be purchased with pure gold.

God Alone Has Wisdom

28:20 “But wisdom – where does it come from?

Where is the place of understanding?

28:21 For it has been hidden

from the eyes of every living creature,

and from the birds of the sky it has been concealed.

28:22 Destruction and Death say,

‘With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.’

28:23 God understands the way to it,

and he alone knows its place.

28:24 For he looks to the ends of the earth

and observes everything under the heavens.

28:25 When he made the force of the wind

and measured the waters with a gauge.

28:26 When he imposed a limit for the rain,

and a path for the thunderstorm,

28:27 then he looked at wisdom and assessed its value;

he established it and examined it closely.

28:28 And he said to mankind,

‘The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom,

and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

IV. Job’s Concluding Soliloquy (29:1-31:40)

Job Recalls His Former Condition

29:1 Then Job continued his speech:

29:2 “O that I could be as I was

in the months now gone,

in the days when God watched over me,

29:3 when he caused his lamp

to shine upon my head,

and by his light

I walked through darkness;

29:4 just as I was in my most productive time,

when God’s intimate friendship was experienced in my tent,

29:5 when the Almighty was still with me

and my children were around me;

29:6 when my steps were bathed with butter

and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil!

29:7 When I went out to the city gate

and secured my seat in the public square,

29:8 the young men would see me and step aside,

and the old men would get up and remain standing;

29:9 the chief men refrained from talking

and covered their mouths with their hands;

29:10 the voices of the nobles fell silent,

and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

Job’s Benevolence

29:11 “As soon as the ear heard these things, it blessed me,

and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,

29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,

and the orphan who had no one to assist him;

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me,

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice;

29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me,

my just dealing was like a robe and a turban;

29:15 I was eyes for the blind

and feet for the lame;

29:16 I was a father to the needy,

and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;

29:17 I broke the fangs of the wicked,

and made him drop his prey from his teeth.

Job’s Confidence

29:18 “Then I thought, ‘I will die in my own home,

my days as numerous as the grains of sand.

29:19 My roots reach the water,

and the dew lies on my branches all night long.

29:20 My glory will always be fresh in me,

and my bow ever new in my hand.’

Job’s Reputation

29:21 “People listened to me and waited silently;

they kept silent for my advice.

29:22 After I had spoken, they did not respond;

my words fell on them drop by drop.

29:23 They waited for me as people wait for the rain,

and they opened their mouths

as for the spring rains.

29:24 If I smiled at them, they hardly believed it;

and they did not cause the light of my face to darken.

29:25 I chose the way for them

and sat as their chief;

I lived like a king among his troops;

I was like one who comforts mourners.

Job’s Present Misery

30:1 “But now they mock me, those who are younger than I,

whose fathers I disdained too much

to put with my sheep dogs.

30:2 Moreover, the strength of their hands –

what use was it to me?

Men whose strength had perished;

30:3 gaunt with want and hunger,

they would gnaw the parched land,

in former time desolate and waste.

30:4 By the brush they would gather herbs from the salt marshes,

and the root of the broom tree was their food.

30:5 They were banished from the community –

people shouted at them

like they would shout at thieves –

30:6 so that they had to live

in the dry stream beds,

in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks.

30:7 They brayed like animals among the bushes

and were huddled together under the nettles.

30:8 Sons of senseless and nameless people,

they were driven out of the land with whips.

Job’s Indignities

30:9 “And now I have become their taunt song;

I have become a byword among them.

30:10 They detest me and maintain their distance;

they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

30:11 Because God has untied my tent cord and afflicted me,

people throw off all restraint in my presence.

30:12 On my right the young rabble rise up;

they drive me from place to place,

and build up siege ramps against me.

30:13 They destroy my path;

they succeed in destroying me

without anyone assisting them.

30:14 They come in as through a wide breach;

amid the crash they come rolling in.

30:15 Terrors are turned loose on me;

they drive away my honor like the wind,

and like a cloud my deliverance has passed away.

Job’s Despondency

30:16 “And now my soul pours itself out within me;

days of suffering take hold of me.

30:17 Night pierces my bones;

my gnawing pains never cease.

30:18 With great power God grasps my clothing;

he binds me like the collar of my tunic.

30:19 He has flung me into the mud,

and I have come to resemble dust and ashes.

30:20 I cry out to you, but you do not answer me;

I stand up, and you only look at me.

30:21 You have become cruel to me;

with the strength of your hand you attack me.

30:22 You pick me up on the wind and make me ride on it;

you toss me about in the storm.

30:23 I know that you are bringing me to death,

to the meeting place for all the living.

The Contrast With the Past

30:24 “Surely one does not stretch out his hand

against a broken man

when he cries for help in his distress.

30:25 Have I not wept for the unfortunate?

Was not my soul grieved for the poor?

30:26 But when I hoped for good, trouble came;

when I expected light, then darkness came.

30:27 My heart is in turmoil unceasingly;

the days of my affliction confront me.

30:28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun;

in the assembly I stand up and cry for help.

30:29 I have become a brother to jackals

and a companion of ostriches.

30:30 My skin has turned dark on me;

my body is hot with fever.

30:31 My harp is used for mourning

and my flute for the sound of weeping.

Job Vindicates Himself

31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes;

how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin?

31:2 What then would be one’s lot from God above,

one’s heritage from the Almighty on high?

31:3 Is it not misfortune for the unjust,

and disaster for those who work iniquity?

31:4 Does he not see my ways

and count all my steps?

31:5 If I have walked in falsehood,

and if my foot has hastened to deceit –

31:6 let him weigh me with honest scales;

then God will discover my integrity.

31:7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way,

if my heart has gone after my eyes,

or if anything has defiled my hands,

31:8 then let me sow and let another eat,

and let my crops be uprooted.

31:9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman,

and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,

31:10 then let my wife turn the millstone for another man,

and may other men have sexual relations with her.

31:11 For I would have committed a shameful act,

an iniquity to be judged.

31:12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction,

and it would uproot all my harvest.

31:13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants

or my female servants

when they disputed with me,

31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment;

when he intervenes,

how will I respond to him?

31:15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them?

Did not the same one form us in the womb?

31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired,

or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

31:17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,

and did not share any of it with orphans –

31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father,

and from my mother’s womb

I guided the widow!

31:19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,

or a poor man without a coat,

31:20 whose heart did not bless me

as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep,

31:21 if I have raised my hand to vote against the orphan,

when I saw my support in the court,

31:22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,

let my arm be broken off at the socket.

31:23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me,

and by reason of his majesty I was powerless.

31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold

or said to pure gold,

‘You are my security!’

31:25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,

or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,

31:26 if I looked at the sun when it was shining,

and the moon advancing as a precious thing,

31:27 so that my heart was secretly enticed,

and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth,

31:28 then this also would be iniquity to be judged,

for I would have been false to God above.

31:29 If I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy

or exulted because calamity found him –

31:30 I have not even permitted my mouth to sin

by asking for his life through a curse –

31:31 if the members of my household have never said,

‘If only there were someone

who has not been satisfied from Job’s meat!’ –

31:32 But no stranger had to spend the night outside,

for I opened my doors to the traveler –

31:33 if I have covered my transgressions as men do,

by hiding iniquity in my heart,

31:34 because I was terrified of the great multitude,

and the contempt of families terrified me,

so that I remained silent

and would not go outdoors –

Job’s Appeal

31:35 “If only I had someone to hear me!

Here is my signature –

let the Almighty answer me!

If only I had an indictment

that my accuser had written.

31:36 Surely I would wear it proudly on my shoulder,

I would bind it on me like a crown;

31:37 I would give him an accounting of my steps;

like a prince I would approach him.

Job’s Final Solemn Oath

31:38 “If my land cried out against me

and all its furrows wept together,

31:39 if I have eaten its produce without paying,

or caused the death of its owners,

31:40 then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat,

and in place of barley, weeds!”

The words of Job are ended.

V. The Speeches of Elihu (32:1-37:24)

Elihu’s First Speech

32:1 So these three men refused to answer Job further, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 32:2 Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry. He was angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 32:3 With Job’s three friends he was also angry, because they could not find an answer, and so declared Job guilty. 32:4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job, because the others were older than he was. 32:5 But when Elihu saw that the three men had no further reply, he became very angry.

Elihu Claims Wisdom

32:6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up:

“I am young, but you are elderly;

that is why I was fearful,

and afraid to explain to you what I know.

32:7 I said to myself, ‘Age should speak,

and length of years should make wisdom known.’

32:8 But it is a spirit in people,

the breath of the Almighty,

that makes them understand.

32:9 It is not the aged who are wise,

nor old men who understand what is right.

32:10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me.

I, even I, will explain what I know.’

32:11 Look, I waited for you to speak;

I listened closely to your wise thoughts,while you were searching for words.

32:12 Now I was paying you close attention,

yet there was no one proving Job wrong,

not one of you was answering his statements!

32:13 So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom!

God will refute him, not man!’

32:14 Job has not directed his words to me,

and so I will not reply to him with your arguments.

Job’s Friends Failed to Answer

32:15 “They are dismayed and cannot answer any more;

they have nothing left to say.

32:16 And I have waited. But because they do not speak,

because they stand there and answer no more,

32:17 I too will answer my part,

I too will explain what I know.

32:18 For I am full of words,

and the spirit within me constrains me.

32:19 Inside I am like wine which has no outlet,

like new wineskins ready to burst!

32:20 I will speak, so that I may find relief;

I will open my lips, so that I may answer.

32:21 I will not show partiality to anyone,

nor will I confer a title on any man.

32:22 for I do not know how to give honorary titles,

if I did, my Creator would quickly do away with me.

Elihu Invites Job’s Attention

33:1 “But now, O Job, listen to my words,

and hear everything I have to say!

33:2 See now, I have opened my mouth;

my tongue in my mouth has spoken.

33:3 My words come from the uprightness of my heart,

and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely.

33:4 The Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

33:5 Reply to me, if you can;

set your arguments in order before me

and take your stand!

33:6 Look, I am just like you in relation to God;

I too have been molded from clay.

33:7 Therefore no fear of me should terrify you,

nor should my pressure be heavy on you.

Elihu Rejects Job’s Plea of Innocence

33:8 “Indeed, you have said in my hearing

(I heard the sound of the words!):

33:9 ‘I am pure, without transgression;

I am clean and have no iniquity.

33:10 Yet God finds occasions with me;

he regards me as his enemy!

33:11 He puts my feet in shackles;

he watches closely all my paths.’

33:12 Now in this, you are not right – I answer you,

for God is greater than a human being.

33:13 Why do you contend against him,

that he does not answer all a person’s words?

Elihu Disagrees With Job’s View of God

33:14 “For God speaks, the first time in one way,

the second time in another,

though a person does not perceive it.

33:15 In a dream, a night vision,

when deep sleep falls on people

as they sleep in their beds.

33:16 Then he gives a revelation to people,

and terrifies them with warnings,

33:17 to turn a person from his sin,

and to cover a person’s pride.

33:18 He spares a person’s life from corruption,

his very life from crossing over the river.

33:19 Or a person is chastened by pain on his bed,

and with the continual strife of his bones,

33:20 so that his life loathes food,

and his soul rejects appetizing fare.

33:21 His flesh wastes away from sight,

and his bones, which were not seen,

are easily visible.

33:22 He draws near to the place of corruption,

and his life to the messengers of death.

33:23 If there is an angel beside him,

one mediator out of a thousand,

to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness;

33:24 and if God is gracious to him and says,

‘Spare him from going down

to the place of corruption,

I have found a ransom for him,’

33:25 then his flesh is restored like a youth’s;

he returns to the days of his youthful vigor.

33:26 He entreats God, and God delights in him,

he sees God’s face with rejoicing,

and God restores to him his righteousness.

33:27 That person sings to others, saying:

‘I have sinned and falsified what is right,

but I was not punished according to what I deserved.

33:28 He redeemed my life

from going down to the place of corruption,

and my life sees the light!’

Elihu’s Appeal to Job

33:29 “Indeed, God does all these things,

twice, three times, in his dealings with a person,

33:30 to turn back his life from the place of corruption,

that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

33:31 Pay attention, Job – listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

33:32 If you have any words, reply to me;

speak, for I want to justify you.

33:33 If not, you listen to me;

be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Elihu’s Second Speech

34:1 Elihu answered:

34:2 “Listen to my words, you wise men;

hear me, you learned men.

34:3 For the ear assesses words

as the mouth tastes food.

34:4 Let us evaluate for ourselves what is right;

let us come to know among ourselves what is good.

34:5 For Job says, ‘I am innocent,

but God turns away my right.

34:6 Concerning my right, should I lie?

My wound is incurable,

although I am without transgression.’

34:7 What man is like Job,

who drinks derision like water!

34:8 He goes about in company with evildoers,

he goes along with wicked men.

34:9 For he says, ‘It does not profit a man

when he makes his delight with God.’

God is Not Unjust

34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.

Far be it from God to do wickedness,

from the Almighty to do evil.

34:11 For he repays a person for his work,

and according to the conduct of a person,

he causes the consequences to find him.

34:12 Indeed, in truth, God does not act wickedly,

and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

34:13 Who entrusted to him the earth?

And who put him over the whole world?

34:14 If God were to set his heart on it,

and gather in his spirit and his breath,

34:15 all flesh would perish together

and human beings would return to dust.

God Is Impartial and Omniscient

34:16 “If you have understanding, listen to this,

hear what I have to say.

34:17 Do you really think

that one who hates justice can govern?

And will you declare guilty

the supremely righteous One,

34:18 who says to a king, ‘Worthless man’

and to nobles, ‘Wicked men,’

34:19 who shows no partiality to princes,

and does not take note of the rich more than the poor,

because all of them are the work of his hands?

34:20 In a moment they die, in the middle of the night,

people are shaken and they pass away.

The mighty are removed effortlessly.

34:21 For his eyes are on the ways of an individual,

he observes all a person’s steps.

34:22 There is no darkness, and no deep darkness,

where evildoers can hide themselves.

34:23 For he does not still consider a person,

that he should come before God in judgment.

34:24 He shatters the great without inquiry,

and sets up others in their place.

34:25 Therefore, he knows their deeds,

he overthrows them in the night

and they are crushed.

34:26 He strikes them for their wickedness,

in a place where people can see,

34:27 because they have turned away from following him,

and have not understood any of his ways,

34:28 so that they caused the cry of the poor

to come before him,

so that he hears the cry of the needy.

34:29 But if God is quiet, who can condemn him?

If he hides his face, then who can see him?

Yet he is over the individual and the nation alike,

34:30 so that the godless man should not rule,

and not lay snares for the people.

Job Is Foolish to Rebel

34:31 “Has anyone said to God,

‘I have endured chastisement,

but I will not act wrongly any more.

34:32 Teach me what I cannot see.

If I have done evil, I will do so no more.’

34:33 Is it your opinion that God should recompense it,

because you reject this?

But you must choose, and not I,

so tell us what you know.

34:34 Men of understanding say to me –

any wise man listening to me says –

34:35 that Job speaks without knowledge

and his words are without understanding.

34:36 But Job will be tested to the end,

because his answers are like those of wicked men.

34:37 For he adds transgression to his sin;

in our midst he claps his hands,

and multiplies his words against God.”

Elihu’s Third Speech

35:1 Then Elihu answered:

35:2 “Do you think this to be just:

when you say, ‘My right before God.’

35:3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’

and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’

35:4 I will reply to you,

and to your friends with you.

35:5 Gaze at the heavens and see;

consider the clouds, which are higher than you!

35:6 If you sin, how does it affect God?

If your transgressions are many,

what does it do to him?

35:7 If you are righteous, what do you give to God,

or what does he receive from your hand?

35:8 Your wickedness affects only a person like yourself,

and your righteousness only other people.

35:9 “People cry out

because of the excess of oppression;

they cry out for help

because of the power of the mighty.

35:10 But no one says, ‘Where is God, my Creator,

who gives songs in the night,

35:11 who teaches us more than the wild animals of the earth,

and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’

35:12 Then they cry out – but he does not answer –

because of the arrogance of the wicked.

35:13 Surely it is an empty cry – God does not hear it;

the Almighty does not take notice of it.

35:14 How much less, then,

when you say that you do not perceive him,

that the case is before him

and you are waiting for him!

35:15 And further, when you say

that his anger does not punish,

and that he does not know transgression!

35:16 So Job opens his mouth to no purpose;

without knowledge he multiplies words.”

Elihu’s Fourth Speech

36:1 Elihu said further:

36:2 “Be patient with me a little longer

and I will instruct you,

for I still have words to speak on God’s behalf.

36:3 With my knowledge I will speak comprehensively,

and to my Creator I will ascribe righteousness.

36:4 For in truth, my words are not false;

it is one complete in knowledge

who is with you.

36:5 Indeed, God is mighty; and he does not despise people,

he is mighty, and firm in his intent.

36:6 He does not allow the wicked to live,

but he gives justice to the poor.

36:7 He does not take his eyes off the righteous;

but with kings on the throne

he seats the righteous and exalts them forever.

36:8 But if they are bound in chains,

and held captive by the cords of affliction,

36:9 then he reveals to them what they have done,

and their transgressions,

that they were behaving proudly.

36:10 And he reveals this for correction,

and says that they must turn from evil.

36:11 If they obey and serve him,

they live out their days in prosperity

and their years in pleasantness.

36:12 But if they refuse to listen,

they pass over the river of death,

and expire without knowledge.

36:13 The godless at heart nourish anger,

they do not cry out even when he binds them.

36:14 They die in their youth,

and their life ends among the male cultic prostitutes.

36:15 He delivers the afflicted by their afflictions,

he reveals himself to them by their suffering.

36:16 And surely, he drew you from the mouth of distress,

to a wide place, unrestricted,

and to the comfort of your table

filled with rich food.

36:17 But now you are preoccupied with the judgment due the wicked,

judgment and justice take hold of you.

36:18 Be careful that no one entices you with riches;

do not let a large bribe turn you aside.

36:19 Would your wealth sustain you,

so that you would not be in distress,

even all your mighty efforts?

36:20 Do not long for the cover of night

to drag people away from their homes.

36:21 Take heed, do not turn to evil,

for because of this you have been tested by affliction.

36:22 Indeed, God is exalted in his power;

who is a teacher like him?

36:23 Who has prescribed his ways for him?

Or said to him, ‘You have done what is wicked’?

36:24 Remember to extol his work,

which people have praised in song.

36:25 All humanity has seen it;

people gaze on it from afar.

The Work and Wisdom of God

36:26 “Yes, God is great – beyond our knowledge!

The number of his years is unsearchable.

36:27 He draws up drops of water;

they distill the rain into its mist,

36:28 which the clouds pour down

and shower on humankind abundantly.

36:29 Who can understand the spreading of the clouds,

the thunderings of his pavilion?

36:30 See how he scattered his lightning about him;

he has covered the depths of the sea.

36:31 It is by these that he judges the nations

and supplies food in abundance.

36:32 With his hands he covers the lightning,

and directs it against its target.

36:33 His thunder announces the coming storm,

the cattle also, concerning the storm’s approach.

37:1 At this also my heart pounds

and leaps from its place.

37:2 Listen carefully to the thunder of his voice,

to the rumbling that proceeds from his mouth.

37:3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go,

even his lightning to the far corners of the earth.

37:4 After that a voice roars;

he thunders with an exalted voice,

and he does not hold back his lightning bolts

when his voice is heard.

37:5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways;

he does great things beyond our understanding.

37:6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall to earth,’

and to the torrential rains, ‘Pour down.’

37:7 He causes everyone to stop working,

so that all people may know his work.

37:8 The wild animals go to their lairs,

and in their dens they remain.

37:9 A tempest blows out from its chamber,

icy cold from the driving winds.

37:10 The breath of God produces ice,

and the breadth of the waters freeze solid.

37:11 He loads the clouds with moisture;

he scatters his lightning through the clouds.

37:12 The clouds go round in circles,

wheeling about according to his plans,

to carry out all that he commands them

over the face of the whole inhabited world.

37:13 Whether it is for punishment for his land,

or whether it is for mercy,

he causes it to find its mark.

37:14 “Pay attention to this, Job!

Stand still and consider the wonders God works.

37:15 Do you know how God commands them,

how he makes lightning flash in his storm cloud?

37:16 Do you know about the balancing of the clouds,

that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge?

37:17 You, whose garments are hot

when the earth is still because of the south wind,

37:18 will you, with him, spread out the clouds,

solid as a mirror of molten metal?

37:19 Tell us what we should say to him.

We cannot prepare a case

because of the darkness.

37:20 Should he be informed that I want to speak?

If a man speaks, surely he would be swallowed up!

37:21 But now, the sun cannot be looked at –

it is bright in the skies –

after a wind passed and swept the clouds away.

37:22 From the north he comes in golden splendor;

around God is awesome majesty.

37:23 As for the Almighty, we cannot attain to him!

He is great in power,

but justice and abundant righteousness he does not oppress.

37:24 Therefore people fear him,

for he does not regard all the wise in heart.”

VI. The Divine Speeches (38:1-42:6)

The Lord’s First Speech

38:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:

38:2 “Who is this who darkens counsel

with words without knowledge?

38:3 Get ready for a difficult task like a man;

I will question you

and you will inform me!

God’s questions to Job

38:4 “Where were you

when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you possess understanding!

38:5 Who set its measurements – if you know –

or who stretched a measuring line across it?

38:6 On what were its bases set,

or who laid its cornerstone –

38:7 when the morning stars sang in chorus,

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

38:8 “Who shut up the sea with doors

when it burst forth, coming out of the womb,

38:9 when I made the storm clouds its garment,

and thick darkness its swaddling band,

38:10 when I prescribed its limits,

and set in place its bolts and doors,

38:11 when I said, ‘To here you may come

and no farther,

here your proud waves will be confined’?

38:12 Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,

or made the dawn know its place,

38:13 that it might seize the corners of the earth,

and shake the wicked out of it?

38:14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;

its features are dyed like a garment.

38:15 Then from the wicked the light is withheld,

and the arm raised in violence is broken.

38:16 Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea,

or walked about in the recesses of the deep?

38:17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?

Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness?

38:18 Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth?

Tell me, if you know it all!

38:19 “In what direction does light reside,

and darkness, where is its place,

38:20 that you may take them to their borders

and perceive the pathways to their homes?

38:21 You know, for you were born before them;

and the number of your days is great!

38:22 Have you entered the storehouse of the snow,

or seen the armory of the hail,

38:23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,

for the day of war and battle?

38:24 In what direction is lightning dispersed,

or the east winds scattered over the earth?

38:25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,

and a path for the rumble of thunder,

38:26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land,

a desert where there are no human beings,

38:27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,

and to cause it to sprout with vegetation?

38:28 Does the rain have a father,

or who has fathered the drops of the dew?

38:29 From whose womb does the ice emerge,

and the frost from the sky, who gives birth to it,

38:30 when the waters become hard like stone,

when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?

38:31 Can you tie the bands of the Pleiades,

or release the cords of Orion?

38:32 Can you lead out

the constellations in their seasons,

or guide the Bear with its cubs?

38:33 Do you know the laws of the heavens,

or can you set up their rule over the earth?

38:34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds

so that a flood of water covers you?

38:35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?

Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?

38:36 Who has put wisdom in the heart,

or has imparted understanding to the mind?

38:37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,

and who can tip over the water jars of heaven,

38:38 when the dust hardens into a mass,

and the clumps of earth stick together?

38:39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness,

and satisfy the appetite of the lions,

38:40 when they crouch in their dens,

when they wait in ambush in the thicket?

38:41 Who prepares prey for the raven,

when its young cry out to God

and wander about for lack of food?

39:1 “Are you acquainted with the way

the mountain goats give birth?

Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?

39:2 Do you count the months they must fulfill,

and do you know the time they give birth?

39:3 They crouch, they bear their young,

they bring forth the offspring they have carried.

39:4 Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open;

they go off, and do not return to them.

39:5 Who let the wild donkey go free?

Who released the bonds of the donkey,

39:6 to whom I appointed the steppe for its home,

the salt wastes as its dwelling place?

39:7 It scorns the tumult in the town;

it does not hear the shouts of a driver.

39:8 It ranges the hills as its pasture,

and searches after every green plant.

39:9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?

Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?

39:10 Can you bind the wild ox to a furrow with its rope,

will it till the valleys, following after you?

39:11 Will you rely on it because its strength is great?

Will you commit your labor to it?

39:12 Can you count on it to bring in your grain,

and gather the grain to your threshing floor?

39:13 “The wings of the ostrich flap with joy,

but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?

39:14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground,

and lets them be warmed on the soil.

39:15 She forgets that a foot might crush them,

or that a wild animal might trample them.

39:16 She is harsh with her young,

as if they were not hers;

she is unconcerned

about the uselessness of her labor.

39:17 For God deprived her of wisdom,

and did not impart understanding to her.

39:18 But as soon as she springs up,

she laughs at the horse and its rider.

39:19 “Do you give the horse its strength?

Do you clothe its neck with a mane?

39:20 Do you make it leap like a locust?

Its proud neighing is terrifying!

39:21 It paws the ground in the valley,

exulting mightily,

it goes out to meet the weapons.

39:22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;

it does not shy away from the sword.

39:23 On it the quiver rattles;

the lance and javelin flash.

39:24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground;

it cannot stand still when the trumpet is blown.

39:25 At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’

And from a distance it catches the scent of battle,

the thunderous shouting of commanders,

and the battle cries.

39:26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,

and spreads its wings toward the south?

39:27 Is it at your command that the eagle soars,

and builds its nest on high?

39:28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there,

on a rocky crag and a fortress.

39:29 From there it spots its prey,

its eyes gaze intently from a distance.

39:30 And its young ones devour the blood,

and where the dead carcasses are,

there it is.”

Job’s Reply to God’s Challenge

40:1 Then the Lord answered Job:

40:2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?

Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”

40:3 Then Job answered the Lord:

40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy – how could I reply to you?

I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself.

40:5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;

twice, but I will say no more.”

The Lord’s Second Speech

40:6 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

40:7 “Get ready for a difficult task like a man.

I will question you and you will inform me!

40:8 Would you indeed annul my justice?

Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?

40:9 Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s,

and can you thunder with a voice like his?

40:10 Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency,

and clothe yourself with glory and honor!

40:11 Scatter abroad the abundance of your anger.

Look at every proud man and bring him low;

40:12 Look at every proud man and abase him;

crush the wicked on the spot!

40:13 Hide them in the dust together,

imprison them in the grave.

40:14 Then I myself will acknowledge to you

that your own right hand can save you.

The Description of Behemoth

40:15 “Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you;

it eats grass like the ox.

40:16 Look at its strength in its loins,

and its power in the muscles of its belly.

40:17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar,

the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.

40:18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,

its limbs like bars of iron.

40:19 It ranks first among the works of God,

the One who made it

has furnished it with a sword.

40:20 For the hills bring it food,

where all the wild animals play.

40:21 Under the lotus trees it lies,

in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh.

40:22 The lotus trees conceal it in their shadow;

the poplars by the stream conceal it.

40:23 If the river rages, it is not disturbed,

it is secure, though the Jordan

should surge up to its mouth.

40:24 Can anyone catch it by its eyes,

or pierce its nose with a snare?

The Description of Leviathan

41:1 (40:25) “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook,

and tie down its tongue with a rope?

41:2 Can you put a cord through its nose,

or pierce its jaw with a hook?

41:3 Will it make numerous supplications to you,

will it speak to you with tender words?

41:4 Will it make a pact with you,

so you could take it as your slave for life?

41:5 Can you play with it, like a bird,

or tie it on a leash for your girls?

41:6 Will partners bargain for it?

Will they divide it up among the merchants?

41:7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons

or its head with fishing spears?

41:8 If you lay your hand on it,

you will remember the fight,

and you will never do it again!

41:9 (41:1) See, his expectation is wrong,

he is laid low even at the sight of it.

41:10 Is it not fierce when it is awakened?

Who is he, then, who can stand before it?

41:11 (Who has confronted me that I should repay?

Everything under heaven belongs to me!)

41:12 I will not keep silent about its limbs,

and the extent of its might,

and the grace of its arrangement.

41:13 Who can uncover its outer covering?

Who can penetrate to the inside of its armor?

41:14 Who can open the doors of its mouth?

Its teeth all around are fearsome.

41:15 Its back has rows of shields,

shut up closely together as with a seal;

41:16 each one is so close to the next

that no air can come between them.

41:17 They lock tightly together, one to the next;

they cling together and cannot be separated.

41:18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;

its eyes are like the red glow of dawn.

41:19 Out of its mouth go flames,

sparks of fire shoot forth!

41:20 Smoke streams from its nostrils

as from a boiling pot over burning rushes.

41:21 Its breath sets coals ablaze

and a flame shoots from its mouth.

41:22 Strength lodges in its neck,

and despair runs before it.

41:23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;

they are firm on it, immovable.

41:24 Its heart is hard as rock,

hard as a lower millstone.

41:25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified,

at its thrashing about they withdraw.

41:26 Whoever strikes it with a sword

will have no effect,

nor with the spear, arrow, or dart.

41:27 It regards iron as straw

and bronze as rotten wood.

41:28 Arrows do not make it flee;

slingstones become like chaff to it.

41:29 A club is counted as a piece of straw;

it laughs at the rattling of the lance.

41:30 Its underparts are the sharp points of potsherds,

it leaves its mark in the mud

like a threshing sledge.

41:31 It makes the deep boil like a cauldron

and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment,

41:32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;

one would think the deep had a head of white hair.

41:33 The likes of it is not on earth,

a creature without fear.

41:34 It looks on every haughty being;

it is king over all that are proud.”

Job’s Confession

42:1 Then Job answered the Lord:

42:2 “I know that you can do all things;

no purpose of yours can be thwarted;

42:3 you asked,

‘Who is this who darkens counsel

without knowledge?’

But I have declared without understanding

things too wonderful for me to know.

42:4 You said,

‘Pay attention, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you will answer me.’

42:5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye has seen you.

42:6 Therefore I despise myself,

and I repent in dust and ashes!