Job 8-20

New American Standard Bible

⁸ “Please ^(H)inquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.
⁹ For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because ^(I)our days on earth are as a shadow.
¹⁰ Will they not teach you and tell you,
And bring forth words from their minds?

¹¹ “Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?
¹² While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other ^[e]plant.
¹³ So are the paths of ^(J)all who forget God;
And the ^(K)hope of the godless will perish,
¹⁴ His confidence is fragile,
And his trust is a ^(L)spider’s ^[f]web.
¹⁵ He depends on his ^(M)house, but it does not stand;
He holds on to it, but it does not endure.
¹⁶ He ^(N)flourishes before the sun,
And his ^(O)shoots spread out over his garden.
¹⁷ His roots wrap around a rock pile,
He ^[g]grasps a house of stones.
¹⁸ If he is ^[h]removed from ^(P)his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘^(Q)I never saw you.’
¹⁹ Behold, ^(R)this is the joy of His way;
And out of the dust others will spring.
²⁰ Behold, ^(S)God will not reject a person of integrity,
Nor ^(T)will He ^[i]help evildoers.
²¹ He will yet fill ^(U)your mouth with laughter,
And your lips with joyful shouting.
²² Those who hate you will be ^(V)clothed with shame,
And the ^(W)tent of the wicked will no longer exist.”

¹³ “God will not turn back His anger;
Beneath Him the helpers of ^[p](AO)Rahab cower.
¹⁴ How then can ^(AP)I ^[q]answer Him,
And choose my words ^[r]before Him?
¹⁵ For ^(AQ)though I were right, I could not ^[s]answer;
I would have to ^(AR)implore the mercy of my Judge.
¹⁶ If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
¹⁷ For He ^(AS)bruises me with a storm
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
¹⁸ He will ^(AT)not allow me to get my breath,
But He saturates me with ^(AU)bitterness.
¹⁹ If it is a matter of power, ^(AV)behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon ^[t]Him?
^20 (AW)Though I am righteous, my mouth will ^(AX)condemn me;
Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
²¹ I am ^(AY)guiltless;
I do not take notice of myself;
I ^(AZ)reject my life.
²² It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He ^(BA)destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
²³ If the whip kills suddenly,
He ^(BB)mocks the despair of the innocent.
²⁴ The earth ^(BC)is handed over to the wicked;
He ^(BD)covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?

²⁵ “Now ^(BE)my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, ^(BF)they see no good.
²⁶ They slip by like ^(BG)reed boats,
Like an ^(BH)eagle that swoops on ^[u]its prey.
²⁷ Though I say, ‘I will forget ^(BI)my complaint,
I will ^[v]put my face in order and be cheerful,’
²⁸ I am ^(BJ)afraid of all my pains,
I know that ^(BK)You will not acquit me.
²⁹ I am ^(BL)guilty,
Why then should I struggle in vain?
³⁰ If I ^(BM)washed myself with snow,
And cleansed ^(BN)my hands with lye,
³¹ Then You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would loathe me.
³² For ^(BO)He is not a man, as I am, that ^(BP)I may answer Him—
That we may go to ^[w]court together!
³³ There is no ^(BQ)arbitrator between us,
Who can place his hand upon us both.
³⁴ Let Him ^(BR)remove His rod from me,
And let not the dread of Him terrify me.
³⁵ Then I ^(BS)would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.

⁸ ‘^(CE)Your hands fashioned and made me ^[aa]altogether,
^(CF)Yet would You destroy me?
⁹ Remember that You have made me as ^(CG)clay;
Yet would You ^(CH)turn me into dust again?
¹⁰ Did You not pour me out like milk,
And curdle me like cheese,
¹¹ Clothe me with skin and flesh,
And intertwine me with bones and tendons?
¹² You have ^(CI)granted me life and ^[ab]goodness;
And Your care has guarded my spirit.
¹³ Yet You have concealed ^(CJ)these things in Your heart;
I know that this is within You:
¹⁴ If I have sinned, You will ^(CK)take note of me,
And ^(CL)will not acquit me of my guilt.
¹⁵ If ^(CM)I am wicked, woe to me!
But if ^(CN)I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.
I am full of shame, and ^[ac]conscious of my misery.
¹⁶ And should my head be high, ^(CO)You would hunt me like a lion;
And You would show Your ^(CP)power against me again.
¹⁷ You renew ^(CQ)Your witnesses against me
And increase Your anger toward me;
^[ad](CR)Hardship after hardship is with me.

¹⁸ ‘^(CS)Why then did You bring me out of the womb?
If only I had died and no eye had seen me!
¹⁹ I should have been as though I had not been,
Brought from womb to tomb.’
²⁰ Would He not leave ^(CT)my few days alone?
^[ae](CU)Withdraw from me so that I may have a little cheerfulness
²¹ Before I go—^(CV)and I shall not return—
^(CW)To the land of darkness and ^(CX)deep shadow,
²² The land of utter gloom like darkness itself,
Of deep shadow without order,
And it shines like darkness.”

⁷ “^(DE)Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are as ^(DF)high as ^[ah]the heavens; what can you do?
Deeper than ^[ai](DG)Sheol; what can you know?
⁹ Its measurement is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.
¹⁰ If He passes by or apprehends people,
Or calls an assembly, ^(DH)who can restrain Him?
¹¹ For ^(DI)He knows false people,
And He ^(DJ)sees injustice ^[aj]without investigating.
^12 [ak](DK)An idiot will become intelligent
When a ^(DL)wild donkey is born a human.

¹³ “^(DM)If you would ^(DN)direct your heart rightly
And ^(DO)spread out your hands to Him,
¹⁴ If wrongdoing is in your hand, ^(DP)put it far away,
And do not let malice dwell in your tents;
¹⁵ Then, indeed, you could ^(DQ)lift up your face without moral blemish,
And you would be firmly established and ^(DR)not fear.
¹⁶ For you would ^(DS)forget your trouble;
Like ^(DT)waters that have passed by, you would remember it.
¹⁷ Your ^[al]life would ^[am]be ^(DU)brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.
¹⁸ Then you would trust, because there is hope;
And you would look around and rest securely.
¹⁹ You would ^(DV)lie down and none would disturb you,
And many would ^[an](DW)flatter you.
²⁰ But the ^(DX)eyes of the wicked will fail,
And ^[ao]there will ^(DY)be no escape for them;
And their ^(DZ)hope is ^[ap](EA)to breathe their last.”

⁷ “But just ask the animals, and have them teach you;
And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.
⁸ Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you;
And have the fish of the sea tell you.
⁹ Who among all these does not know
That ^(EI)the hand of the Lord has done this,
^10 (EJ)In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And ^(EK)the breath of all mankind?
¹¹ Does ^(EL)the ear not put words to the test,
As the palate ^[au]tastes its food?
¹² Wisdom is with the ^(EM)aged,
And with ^[av]long life comes understanding.

³ “But ^(FJ)I would speak to ^[bd]the Almighty,
And I desire to ^(FK)argue with God.
⁴ But you ^(FL)smear me with lies;
You are all ^(FM)worthless physicians.
⁵ Oh that you would ^(FN)be completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!
⁶ Please hear my argument,
And give your attention to the contentions of my lips.
⁷ Will you ^(FO)speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?
⁸ Will you ^(FP)show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?
⁹ Will it go well when He examines you?
Or ^(FQ)will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
¹⁰ He will certainly punish you
If you secretly ^(FR)show partiality.
¹¹ Will ^(FS)His ^[be]majesty not terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall upon you?
¹² Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.

²⁰ “Only two things I ask that You do not do to me,
Then I will not hide from Your face:
^21 (GD)Remove Your ^[bi]hand from me,
And may the dread of You not terrify me.
²² Then call and ^(GE)I will answer;
Or let me speak, then reply to me.
^23 (GF)How many are my guilty deeds and sins?
Make known to me my wrongdoing and my sin.
²⁴ Why do You ^(GG)hide Your face
And consider me ^(GH)Your enemy?
²⁵ Will You scare away a ^(GI)scattered leaf?
Or will You pursue the dry ^(GJ)chaff?
²⁶ For You write ^(GK)bitter things against me
And ^(GL)make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth.
²⁷ You ^(GM)put my feet in the stocks
And watch all my paths;
You ^[bj]set a limit for the soles of my feet,
²⁸ While ^[bk]I am decaying like a ^(GN)rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

⁷ “For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not ^[bq]fail.
⁸ Though its roots grow old in the ground,
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
⁹ At the scent of water it will flourish
And produce sprigs like a plant.
¹⁰ But ^(GX)a man dies and lies prostrate.
A person ^(GY)passes away, and where is he?
¹¹ As ^(GZ)water ^[br]evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
¹² So ^(HA)a man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens no longer exist,
^[bs]He will not awake nor be woken from ^[bt]his sleep.

¹³ “Oh that You would hide me in ^[bu]Sheol,
That You would conceal me ^(HB)until Your wrath returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
¹⁴ If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my struggle I will wait
Until my relief comes.
¹⁵ You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for ^(HC)the work of Your hands.
¹⁶ For now You ^(HD)number my steps,
You do not ^(HE)observe my sin.
¹⁷ My wrongdoing is ^(HF)sealed up in a bag,
And You cover over my ^[bv]guilt.

¹⁸ “But the falling mountain ^[bw]crumbles away,
And the rock moves from its place;
¹⁹ Water wears away stones,
Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
So You ^(HG)destroy a man’s hope.
²⁰ You forever overpower him and he ^(HH)departs;
You change his appearance and send him away.
²¹ His sons achieve honor, but ^(HI)he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, and he does not perceive it.
²² However, his ^[bx]body pains him,
And his soul mourns for himself.”

⁷ “Were you the first person to be born,
Or ^(HN)were you brought forth before the hills?
⁸ Do you hear the ^(HO)secret discussion of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself?
^9 (HP)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that ^[ca]we do not?
¹⁰ Both the ^(HQ)gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father.
¹¹ Are ^(HR)the consolations of God too little for you,
Or the ^(HS)word spoken gently to you?
¹² Why does your ^(HT)heart take you away?
And why do your eyes wink,
¹³ That you can turn your spirit against God
And produce such words from your mouth?
¹⁴ What is man, that ^(HU)he would be pure,
Or ^(HV)he who is born of a woman, that he would be righteous?
¹⁵ Behold, He has no trust in His ^(HW)holy ones,
And the ^(HX)heavens are not pure in His sight;
¹⁶ How much less one who is ^(HY)detestable and corrupt:
A person who ^(HZ)drinks ^[cb]malice like water!

¹⁸ “Earth, do not cover my blood,
And may there be no resting place for my cry.
¹⁹ Even now, behold, ^(JW)my witness is in heaven,
And my ^[cv]advocate is ^(JX)on high.
²⁰ My friends are my scoffers;
^(JY)My eye weeps to God,
²¹ That one might plead for a man with God
As a son of man with his neighbor!
²² For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way ^(JZ)of no return.

³ “Make a pledge ^(KC)for me with Yourself;
Who is there that will ^[cy]be my guarantor?
⁴ For You have ^[cz](KD)kept their hearts away from understanding;
Therefore You will not exalt them.
⁵ He who ^(KE)informs against friends for a share of the spoils,
The ^(KF)eyes of his children also will perish.

⁶ “But He has made me a ^(KG)proverb among the people,
And I am ^[da]one at whom people ^(KH)spit.
⁷ My eye has also become ^(KI)inexpressive because of grief,
And all my ^(KJ)body parts are like a shadow.
⁸ The upright will be appalled at this,
And the ^(KK)innocent will stir himself up against the godless.
⁹ Nevertheless ^(KL)the righteous will hold to his way,
And ^(KM)the one who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.
¹⁰ But come again all of ^[db]you now,
For I ^(KN)do not find a wise man among you.
¹¹ My ^(KO)days are past, my plans are torn apart,
The wishes of my heart.
¹² They make night into day, saying,
‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.
¹³ If I hope for ^[dc](KP)Sheol as my home,
I ^[dd]make my bed in the darkness;
¹⁴ If I call to the ^(KQ)grave, ‘You are my father’;
To the ^(KR)maggot, ‘my mother and my sister’;
¹⁵ Where then is ^(KS)my hope?
And who looks at my hope?
^16 [de]Will it go down with me to Sheol?
Shall we together ^(KT)go down into the dust?”

⁵ “Indeed, the ^(KV)light of the wicked goes out,
And the spark from his fire does not shine.
⁶ The light in his tent is ^(KW)darkened,
And his lamp goes out above him.
⁷ His ^[dg]vigorous stride is shortened,
And his ^(KX)own plan brings him down.
⁸ For he is ^(KY)thrown into the net by his own feet,
And he steps on the webbing.
⁹ A snare seizes him by the heel,
And a trap snaps shut on him.
¹⁰ A noose for him is hidden in the ground,
And a trap for him on the pathway.
¹¹ All around ^(KZ)sudden terrors frighten him,
And ^(LA)harass him at every step.
¹² His strength is ^(LB)famished,
And disaster is ready at his side.
^13 [dh]It devours parts of his skin,
The firstborn of death ^(LC)devours his ^[di]limbs.
¹⁴ He is ^(LD)torn from ^[dj]the security of his tent,
And ^[dk]they march him before the king of ^(LE)terrors.
^15 [dl]Nothing of his dwells in his tent;
^(LF)Brimstone is scattered on his home.
¹⁶ His ^(LG)roots are dried below,
And his ^(LH)branch withers above.
^17 (LI)The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name abroad.
^18 [dm]He is driven from light ^(LJ)into darkness,
And ^(LK)chased from the inhabited world.
¹⁹ He has no ^(LL)offspring or descendants among his people,
Nor any survivor where he resided.
²⁰ Those in the west are appalled at ^(LM)his ^[dn]fate,
And those in the east are seized with horror.
²¹ Certainly these are the ^(LN)dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

¹³ “He has ^(MD)removed my brothers far from me,
And my ^(ME)acquaintances have completely turned away from me.
¹⁴ My relatives have failed,
And my ^(MF)close friends have forgotten me.
¹⁵ Those who live in my house and my servant women consider me a stranger.
I am a foreigner in their sight.
¹⁶ I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore his favor with my mouth.
¹⁷ My breath is offensive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
¹⁸ Even young children despise me;
I stand up and they speak against me.
¹⁹ All ^[dq]my ^(MG)associates loathe me,
And those I love have turned against me.
²⁰ My ^(MH)bone clings to my skin and my flesh,
And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
²¹ Pity me, pity me, you friends of mine,
For the ^(MI)hand of God has struck me.
²² Why do you ^(MJ)persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?

¹² “Though ^(NF)evil tastes sweet in his mouth
And he hides it under his tongue,
¹³ Though he ^[eb]desires it and will not let it go,
But holds it ^(NG)in his ^[ec]mouth,
¹⁴ Yet his food in his stomach is changed
To the ^[ed]venom of cobras within him.
¹⁵ He swallows riches,
But will ^(NH)vomit them up;
God will expel them from his belly.
¹⁶ He sucks ^(NI)the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue kills him.
¹⁷ He does not look at ^(NJ)the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and curds.
¹⁸ He ^(NK)returns the product of his labor
And cannot swallow it;
As to the riches of his trading,
He cannot even enjoy them.
¹⁹ For he has ^(NL)oppressed and neglected the poor;
He has seized a house which he has not built.

²⁰ “Because he knew no quiet ^[ee]within him,
He does ^(NM)not retain anything he desires.
²¹ Nothing remains ^[ef]for him to devour,
Therefore ^(NN)his prosperity does not endure.
²² In the fullness of his excess he will be cramped;
The ^(NO)hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.
²³ When he ^(NP)fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And ^(NQ)rain it on him ^[eg]while he is eating.
²⁴ He may ^(NR)flee from the iron weapon,
But the bronze bow will pierce him.
²⁵ It is drawn and comes out of his back,
Even the flashing point from ^(NS)his gallbladder;
^(NT)Terrors come upon him,
²⁶ Complete ^(NU)darkness is held in reserve for his treasures,
And unfanned ^(NV)fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.
²⁷ The ^(NW)heavens will reveal his guilt,
And the earth will rise up against him.
²⁸ The ^(NX)increase of his house will disappear;
His possessions will flow away ^(NY)on the day of His anger.
²⁹ This is a wicked person’s ^(NZ)portion from God,
The inheritance decreed to him by God.”