Job 27-30
New American Standard Bible
Job Affirms His Righteousness
27 Job again took up his (A)discourse and said,
2 “As God lives, (B)who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, (C)who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as [a]life is in me,
And the [b](D)breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will (E)my tongue mutter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Until I die, (F)I will not [c]give up my integrity.
6 I have (G)kept hold of my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not rebuke any of my days.
The State of the Godless
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked,
And [d]my opponent as the criminal.
8 For what is (H)the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life,
When God requires (I)his [e]life?
9 Will God (J)hear his cry
When (K)distress comes upon him?
10 Or will he take (L)pleasure in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will instruct you in the [f]power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you talk of nothing?
13 “This is (M)the portion of a wicked person from God,
And the inheritance which (N)tyrants receive from the Almighty:
14 Though his sons are many, [g]they are destined (O)for the sword;
And his (P)descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And [h]their (Q)widows will not be able to weep.
16 Though he piles up silver like dust,
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, (R)but the righteous will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He has built his (S)house like the [i]spider’s web,
Or a hut which the watchman has made.
19 He lies down rich, but never [j]again;
He opens his eyes, and (T)it no longer exists.
20 (U)Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A storm steals him away (V)in the night.
21 The east (W)wind carries him away, and he is gone;
For it sweeps him (X)away from his place.
22 For it will hurl at him (Y)without mercy;
He will certainly try to (Z)flee from its [k]power.
23 People will [l]clap their hands at him,
And will (AA)whistle at him from their places.
Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures
28 “Certainly there is a [m]mine for silver
And a place [n]for refining gold.
2 Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And (AB)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 He [o]sinks a shaft away from [p]inhabited areas,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing, away from people.
5 [q]From the earth comes food,
And underneath, it is turned over like fire.
6 Its rocks are the [r]source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 No bird of prey knows the path,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 The [s]proud animals have not trodden it,
Nor has the lion passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the [t]base.
10 He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 He dams up the streams from [u]flowing,
And brings to light what is hidden.
The Search for Wisdom Is Harder
12 “But (AC)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 (AD)Mankind does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 (AE)Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 (AF)Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.
18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of (AG)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
19 The topaz of [v]Cush cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in (AH)pure gold.
20 (AI)Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is this place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature,
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 [w](AJ)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
23 “(AK)God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He (AL)looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He imparted (AM)weight to the wind,
And (AN)assessed the waters by measure,
26 When He made a (AO)limit for the rain,
And a course for the (AP)thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the (AQ)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Job’s Past Was Glorious
29 Job again took up his (AR)discourse and said,
2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God (AS)watched over me;
3 When (AT)His lamp shone over my head,
And (AU)by His light I walked through darkness;
4 Just as I was in the days of my youth,
When the (AV)protection of God was over my tent;
5 When [x]the Almighty was still with me,
And my children were around me;
6 When my steps were bathed in (AW)cream,
And the (AX)rock poured out streams of oil for me!
7 When I went out to (AY)the gate of the city,
When I [y]took my seat in the public square,
8 The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the old men arose and stood.
9 The leaders (AZ)stopped talking
And (BA)put their hands on their mouths;
10 The voices of the prominent people were [z](BB)hushed,
And their (BC)tongues stuck to their palates.
11 For when (BD)an ear heard, it called me blessed,
And when an eye saw, it testified in support of me,
12 Because I saved (BE)the poor who cried for help,
And the (BF)orphan who had no helper.
13 The blessing of the one who (BG)was about to perish came upon me,
And I made the (BH)widow’s heart sing for joy.
14 I (BI)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a headband.
15 I was (BJ)eyes to those who were blind,
And feet to those who [aa]could not walk.
16 I was a father to (BK)the poor,
And I investigated the case which I did not know.
17 I (BL)broke the jaws of the wicked
And rescued the prey from his teeth.
18 Then I [ab]thought, ‘I will die with my [ac]family,
And I will multiply my days as the sand.
19 My (BM)root is spread out to the waters,
And (BN)dew lies on my branch all night.
20 My glory is ever new with me,
And my (BO)bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 “To me (BP)they listened and waited,
And they kept silent for my advice.
22 After my words (BQ)they did not speak again,
And (BR)my speech dropped on them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouths as for the late rain.
24 I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not look at [ad]my kindness ungraciously.
25 I chose a way for them and sat as (BS)chief,
And lived as a king among the troops,
As one who (BT)comforted the mourners.
Job’s Present State Is Humiliating
30 “But now those who are younger than I (BU)mock me,
Whose fathers I refused to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
3 From poverty and famine they are gaunt,
They who gnaw at the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
4 Who pluck saltweed by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
5 They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
6 So that they live on the slopes of ravines,
In holes in the ground and among the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they [ae]cry out;
Under the weeds they are gathered together.
8 Worthless [af]fellows, even [ag]those without a name,
They were cast out from the land.
9 “And now I have become their [ah](BV)taunt,
And I have become a [ai](BW)byword to them.
10 They loathe me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not [aj]refrain from (BX)spitting in my face.
11 Because He has undone [ak]my [al]bowstring and (BY)afflicted me,
They have cast off (BZ)the bridle before me.
12 On the right hand their [am]mob arises;
They (CA)push aside my feet (CB)and pile up their ways of destruction against me.
13 They (CC)break up my path,
They promote my destruction;
No one restrains them.
14 As through a wide gap they come,
[an]Amid the storm they roll on.
15 (CD)Sudden terrors are turned upon me;
They chase away my dignity like the wind,
And my [ao]prosperity has passed away (CE)like a cloud.
16 “And now (CF)my soul is poured out [ap]within me;
Days of misery have seized me.
17 At night it pierces (CG)my bones [aq]within me,
And my gnawing pains do not rest.
18 By a great force my garment is (CH)distorted;
It ties me up like the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown me into the (CI)mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I (CJ)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
21 You have [ar]become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You (CK)persecute me.
22 You (CL)lift me up to the wind and make me ride it;
And You dissolve me in a storm.
23 For I know that You (CM)will bring me to death,
And to the (CN)house of meeting for all living.
24 “Yet does one in a heap of ruins not reach out with his hand,
Or in his disaster does he not (CO)cry out for help?
25 Have I not (CP)wept for the [as]one whose life is hard?
Was my soul not grieved for (CQ)the needy?
26 When I (CR)expected good, evil came;
When I waited for light, (CS)darkness came.
27 [at]I am seething (CT)within and cannot rest;
Days of misery confront me.
28 I go about [au](CU)mourning without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and (CV)cry out for help.
29 I have become a brother to (CW)jackals,
And a companion of ostriches.
30 My (CX)skin turns black [av]on me,
And my (CY)bones burn with [aw]fever.
31 Therefore my (CZ)harp [ax]is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.
Footnotes
- Job 27:3 Lit breath
- Job 27:3 Or spirit
- Job 27:5 Lit remove from me
- Job 27:7 Lit one who rises up against me
- Job 27:8 Or soul
- Job 27:11 Lit hand
- Job 27:14 Lit the sword is for them
- Job 27:15 As in ancient versions; Heb his
- Job 27:18 As in ancient versions; Heb moth
- Job 27:19 As in ancient versions; Heb will be gathered
- Job 27:22 Lit hand
- Job 27:23 I.e., mock and ridicule him
- Job 28:1 Lit source
- Job 28:1 Lit for gold they refine
- Job 28:4 Lit breaks open
- Job 28:4 Lit sojourning
- Job 28:5 Lit Earth, from it
- Job 28:6 Or place
- Job 28:8 Lit sons of pride
- Job 28:9 Lit root
- Job 28:11 Lit weeping
- Job 28:19 Or Ethiopia
- Job 28:22 I.e., Destruction
- Job 29:5 Heb Shaddai
- Job 29:7 Lit set up
- Job 29:10 Lit hidden
- Job 29:15 Or limped
- Job 29:18 Lit said
- Job 29:18 Lit nest
- Job 29:24 Lit the light of my face
- Job 30:7 Or bray
- Job 30:8 Lit sons
- Job 30:8 Lit sons
- Job 30:9 Lit song
- Job 30:9 I.e., prob. a word of insult
- Job 30:10 Lit withhold spit from my face
- Job 30:11 Some mss His
- Job 30:11 Or cord
- Job 30:12 Or youth arise
- Job 30:14 Lit Under
- Job 30:15 Or welfare
- Job 30:16 Lit upon
- Job 30:17 Lit from upon
- Job 30:21 Lit turned to be
- Job 30:25 Lit hard of day
- Job 30:27 Lit My inward parts are boiling
- Job 30:28 Or blackened, but not by the heat of the sun
- Job 30:30 Lit from upon
- Job 30:30 Lit heat
- Job 30:31 Lit becomes
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