Job 13-18 (New American Standard Bible)

Job 13

Job Says His Friends' Proverbs Are Ashes

    ¹"^(A)Behold, my eye has seen all this,
         My ear has heard and understood it.
    ²"^(B)What you know I also know;
         I am not inferior to you.
    ³"But ^(C)I would speak to the Almighty,
         And I desire to ^(D)argue with God.
    ⁴"But you ^(E)smear with lies;
         You are all ^(F)worthless physicians.
    ⁵"O that you would ^(G)be completely silent,
         And that it would become your wisdom!
    ⁶"Please hear my argument
         And listen to the contentions of my lips.
    ⁷"Will you ^(H)speak what is unjust for God,
         And speak what is deceitful for Him?
    ⁸"Will you ^(I)show partiality for Him?
         Will you contend for God?
    ⁹"Will it be well when He examines you?
         Or ^(J)will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
    ¹⁰"He will surely reprove you
         If you secretly ^(K)show partiality.
    ¹¹"Will not ^(L)His majesty terrify you,
         And the dread of Him fall on you?
    ¹²"Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
         Your defenses are defenses of clay.

Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated

    ¹³"^(M)Be silent before me so that I may speak;
         Then let come on me what may.
    ¹⁴"Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
         And ^(N)put my life in my hands?
    ¹⁵"^(O)Though He slay me,
         I will hope in Him
         Nevertheless I ^(P)will argue my ways before Him.
    ¹⁶"This also will be my ^(Q)salvation,
         For ^(R)a godless man may not come before His presence.
    ¹⁷"Listen carefully to my speech,
         And let my declaration fill your ears.
    ¹⁸"Behold now, I have ^(S)prepared my case;
         I know that ^(T)I will be vindicated.
    ¹⁹"^(U)Who will contend with me?
         For then I would be silent and ^(V)die.
    ²⁰"Only two things do not do to me,
         Then I will not hide from Your face:
    ^21(W)Remove Your hand from me,
         And let not the dread of You terrify me.
    ²²"Then call, and ^(X)I will answer;
         Or let me speak, then reply to me.
    ²³"^(Y)How many are my iniquities and sins?
         Make known to me my rebellion and my sin.
    ²⁴"Why do You ^(Z)hide Your face
         And consider me ^(AA)Your enemy?
    ²⁵"Will You cause a ^(AB)driven leaf to tremble?
         Or will You pursue the dry ^(AC)chaff?
    ²⁶"For You write ^(AD)bitter things against me
         And ^(AE)make me to inherit the iniquities of my youth.
    ²⁷"You ^(AF)put my feet in the stocks
         And watch all my paths;
         You set a limit for the soles of my feet,
    ²⁸While I am decaying like a ^(AG)rotten thing,
         Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Job 14

Job Speaks of the Finality of Death

    ¹"^(AH)Man, who is born of woman,
         Is short-lived and ^(AI)full of turmoil.
    ²"^(AJ)Like a flower he comes forth and withers
         He also flees like ^(AK)a shadow and does not remain.
    ³"You also ^(AL)open Your eyes on him
         And ^(AM)bring him into judgment with Yourself.
    ⁴"^(AN)Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
         No one!
    ⁵"Since his days are determined,
         The ^(AO)number of his months is with You;
         And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.
    ⁶"^(AP)Turn Your gaze from him that he may rest,
         Until he fulfills his day like a hired man.
    ⁷"For there is hope for a tree,
         When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
         And its shoots will not fail.
    ⁸"Though its roots grow old in the ground
         And its stump dies in the dry soil,
    ⁹At the scent of water it will flourish
         And put forth sprigs like a plant.
    ¹⁰"But ^(AQ)man dies and lies prostrate
         Man ^(AR)expires, and where is he?
    ¹¹"As ^(AS)water evaporates from the sea,
         And a river becomes parched and dried up,
    ¹²So ^(AT)man lies down and does not rise.
         Until the heavens are no longer,
         He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.
    ¹³"Oh that You would hide me in Sheol,
         That You would conceal me ^(AU)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 change comes.
    ¹⁵"You will call, and I will answer You;
         You will long for ^(AV)the work of Your hands.
    ¹⁶"For now You ^(AW)number my steps,
         You do not ^(AX)observe my sin.
    ¹⁷"My transgression is ^(AY)sealed up in a bag,
         And You wrap up my iniquity.
    ¹⁸"But the falling mountain crumbles away,
         And the rock moves from its place;
    ¹⁹Water wears away stones,
         Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
         So You ^(AZ)destroy man's hope.
    ²⁰"You forever overpower him and he ^(BA)departs;
         You change his appearance and send him away.
    ²¹"His sons achieve honor, but ^(BB)he does not know it;
         Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.
    ²²"But his body pains him,
         And he mourns only for himself."

Job 15

Eliphaz Says Job Presumes Much

 ¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
    ²"Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
         ^(BC)And fill himself with the east wind?
    ³"Should he argue with useless talk,
         Or with words which are not profitable?
    ⁴"Indeed, you do away with reverence
         And hinder meditation before God.
    ⁵"For ^(BD)your guilt teaches your mouth,
         And you choose the language of ^(BE)the crafty.
    ⁶"Your ^(BF)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
         And your own lips testify against you.
    ⁷"Were you the first man to be born,
         Or ^(BG)were you brought forth before the hills?
    ⁸"Do you hear the ^(BH)secret counsel of God,
         And limit wisdom to yourself?
    ⁹"^(BI)What do you know that we do not know?
         What do you understand that we do not?
    ¹⁰"Both the ^(BJ)gray-haired and the aged are among us,
         Older than your father.
    ¹¹"Are ^(BK)the consolations of God too small for you,
         Even the ^(BL)word spoken gently with you?
    ¹²"Why does your ^(BM)heart carry you away?
         And why do your eyes flash,
    ¹³That you should turn your spirit against God
         And allow such words to go out of your mouth?
    ¹⁴"What is man, that ^(BN)he should be pure,
         Or ^(BO)he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
    ¹⁵"Behold, He puts no trust in His ^(BP)holy ones,
         And the ^(BQ)heavens are not pure in His sight;
    ¹⁶How much less one who is ^(BR)detestable and corrupt,
         Man, who ^(BS)drinks iniquity like water!

What Eliphaz Has Seen of Life

    ¹⁷"I will tell you, listen to me;
         And what I have seen I will also declare;
    ¹⁸What wise men have told,
         And have not concealed from ^(BT)their fathers,
    ¹⁹To whom alone the land was given,
         And no alien passed among them.
    ²⁰"The wicked man writhes ^(BU)in pain all his days,
         And numbered are the years ^(BV)stored up for the ruthless.
    ²¹"Sounds of ^(BW)terror are in his ears;
         ^(BX)While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
    ²²"He does not believe that he will ^(BY)return from darkness,
         And he is destined for ^(BZ)the sword.
    ²³"He wanders about for food, saying, 'Where is it?'
         He knows that a day of ^(CA)darkness is at hand.
    ²⁴"Distress and anguish terrify him,
         They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
    ²⁵Because he has stretched out his hand against God
         And conducts himself ^(CB)arrogantly against the Almighty.
    ²⁶"He rushes headlong at Him
         With his massive shield.
    ²⁷"For he has ^(CC)covered his face with his fat
         And made his thighs heavy with flesh.
    ²⁸"He has ^(CD)lived in desolate cities,
         In houses no one would inhabit,
         Which are destined to become ruins.
    ²⁹"He ^(CE)will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
         And his grain will not bend down to the ground.
    ³⁰"He will ^(CF)not escape from darkness;
         The ^(CG)flame will wither his shoots,
         And by ^(CH)the breath of His mouth he will go away.
    ³¹"Let him not ^(CI)trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
         For emptiness will be his reward.
    ³²"It will be accomplished ^(CJ)before his time,
         And his palm ^(CK)branch will not be green.
    ³³"He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
         And will ^(CL)cast off his flower like the olive tree.
    ³⁴"For the company of ^(CM)the godless is barren,
         And fire consumes ^(CN)the tents of the corrupt.
    ³⁵"They ^(CO)conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity,
         And their mind prepares deception."

Job 16

Job Says Friends Are Sorry Comforters

 ¹Then Job answered,
    ²"I have heard many such things;
         ^(CP)Sorry comforters are you all.
    ³"Is there no limit to ^(CQ)windy words?
         Or what plagues you that you answer?
    ⁴"I too could speak like you,
         If I were in your place.
         I could compose words against you
         And ^(CR)shake my head at you.
    ⁵"I could strengthen you with my mouth,
         And the solace of my lips could lessen your pain.

Job Says God Shattered Him

    ⁶"If I speak, ^(CS)my pain is not lessened,
         And if I hold back, what has left me?
    ⁷"But now He has ^(CT)exhausted me;
         You have laid ^(CU)waste all my company.
    ⁸"You have shriveled me up,
         ^(CV)It has become a witness;
         And my ^(CW)leanness rises up against me,
         It testifies to my face.
    ⁹"His anger has ^(CX)torn me and hunted me down,
         He has ^(CY)gnashed at me with His teeth;
         My ^(CZ)adversary glares at me.
    ¹⁰"They have ^(DA)gaped at me with their mouth,
         They have ^(DB)slapped me on the cheek with contempt;
         They have ^(DC)massed themselves against me.
    ¹¹"God hands me over to ruffians
         And tosses me into the hands of the wicked.
    ¹²"I was at ease, but ^(DD)He shattered me,
         And He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;
         He has also set me up as His ^(DE)target.
    ¹³"His ^(DF)arrows surround me
         Without mercy He splits my kidneys open;
         He pours out ^(DG)my gall on the ground.
    ¹⁴"He ^(DH)breaks through me with breach after breach;
         He ^(DI)runs at me like a warrior.
    ¹⁵"I have sewed ^(DJ)sackcloth over my skin
         And ^(DK)thrust my horn in the dust.
    ¹⁶"My face is flushed from ^(DL)weeping,
         ^(DM)And deep darkness is on my eyelids,
    ¹⁷Although there is no ^(DN)violence in my hands,
         And ^(DO)my prayer is pure.
    ¹⁸"O earth, do not cover my blood,
         And let there be no resting place for my cry.
    ¹⁹"Even now, behold, ^(DP)my witness is in heaven,
         And my advocate is ^(DQ)on high.
    ²⁰"My friends are my scoffers;
         ^(DR)My eye weeps to God.
    ²¹"O that a man might plead with God
         As a man with his neighbor!
    ²²"For when a few years are past,
         I shall go the way ^(DS)of no return.

Job 17

Job Says He Has Become a Byword

    ¹"My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished,
         The ^(DT)grave is ready for me.
    ²"^(DU)Surely mockers are with me,
         And my eye gazes on their provocation.
    ³"Lay down, now, a pledge ^(DV)for me with Yourself;
         Who is there that will be my guarantor?
    ⁴"For You have ^(DW)kept their heart from understanding,
         Therefore You will not exalt them.
    ⁵"He who ^(DX)informs against friends for a share of the spoil,
         The ^(DY)eyes of his children also will languish.
    ⁶"But He has made me a ^(DZ)byword of the people,
         And I am one at whom men ^(EA)spit.
    ⁷"My eye has also grown ^(EB)dim because of grief,
         And all my ^(EC)members are as a shadow.
    ⁸"The upright will be appalled at this,
         And the ^(ED)innocent will stir up himself against the godless.
    ⁹"Nevertheless ^(EE)the righteous will hold to his way,
         And ^(EF)he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.
    ¹⁰"But come again all of you now,
         For I ^(EG)do not find a wise man among you.
    ¹¹"My ^(EH)days are past, my plans are torn apart,
         Even the wishes of my heart.
    ¹²"They make night into day, saying,
         'The light is near,' in the presence of darkness.
    ¹³"If I look for ^(EI)Sheol as my home,
         I make my bed in the darkness;
    ¹⁴If I call to the ^(EJ)pit, 'You are my father';
         To the ^(EK)worm, 'my mother and my sister';
    ¹⁵Where now is ^(EL)my hope?
         And who regards my hope?
    ¹⁶"Will it go down with me to Sheol?
         Shall we together ^(EM)go down into the dust?"

Job 18

Bildad Speaks of the Wicked

 ¹Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,
    ²"How long will you hunt for words?
         Show understanding and then we can talk.
    ³"Why are we ^(EN)regarded as beasts,
         As stupid in your eyes?
    ⁴"O you who tear yourself in your anger--
         For your sake is the earth to be abandoned,
         Or the rock to be moved from its place?
    ⁵"Indeed, the ^(EO)light of the wicked goes out,
         And the flame of his fire gives no light.
    ⁶"The light in his tent is ^(EP)darkened,
         And his lamp goes out above him.
    ⁷"His vigorous stride is shortened,
         And his ^(EQ)own scheme brings him down.
    ⁸"For he is ^(ER)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 path.
    ¹¹"All around ^(ES)terrors frighten him,
         And ^(ET)harry him at every step.
    ¹²"His strength is ^(EU)famished,
         And calamity is ready at his side.
    ¹³"His skin is devoured by disease,
         The firstborn of death ^(EV)devours his limbs.
    ¹⁴"He is ^(EW)torn from the security of his tent,
         And they march him before the king of ^(EX)terrors.
    ¹⁵"There dwells in his tent nothing of his;
         ^(EY)Brimstone is scattered on his habitation.
    ¹⁶"His ^(EZ)roots are dried below,
         And his ^(FA)branch is cut off above.
    ¹⁷"^(FB)Memory of him perishes from the earth,
         And he has no name abroad.
    ¹⁸"He is driven from light ^(FC)into darkness,
         And ^(FD)chased from the inhabited world.
    ¹⁹"He has no ^(FE)offspring or posterity among his people,
         Nor any survivor where he sojourned.
    ²⁰"Those in the west are appalled at ^(FF)his fate,
         And those in the east are seized with horror.
    ²¹"Surely such are the ^(FG)dwellings of the wicked,
         And this is the place of him who does not know God."