Job 10-12
New Living Translation
Job Frames His Plea to God
10 “I am disgusted with my life.
Let me complain freely.
My bitter soul must complain.
2 I will say to God, ‘Don’t simply condemn me—
tell me the charge you are bringing against me.
3 What do you gain by oppressing me?
Why do you reject me, the work of your own hands,
while smiling on the schemes of the wicked?
4 Are your eyes like those of a human?
Do you see things only as people see them?
5 Is your lifetime only as long as ours?
Is your life so short
6 that you must quickly probe for my guilt
and search for my sin?
7 Although you know I am not guilty,
no one can rescue me from your hands.
8 “‘You formed me with your hands; you made me,
yet now you completely destroy me.
9 Remember that you made me from dust—
will you turn me back to dust so soon?
10 You guided my conception
and formed me in the womb.[a]
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and you knit my bones and sinews together.
12 You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love.
My life was preserved by your care.
13 “‘Yet your real motive—
your true intent—
14 was to watch me, and if I sinned,
you would not forgive my guilt.
15 If I am guilty, too bad for me;
and even if I’m innocent, I can’t hold my head high,
because I am filled with shame and misery.
16 And if I hold my head high, you hunt me like a lion
and display your awesome power against me.
17 Again and again you witness against me.
You pour out your growing anger on me
and bring fresh armies against me.
18 “‘Why, then, did you deliver me from my mother’s womb?
Why didn’t you let me die at birth?
19 It would be as though I had never existed,
going directly from the womb to the grave.
20 I have only a few days left, so leave me alone,
that I may have a moment of comfort
21 before I leave—never to return—
for the land of darkness and utter gloom.
22 It is a land as dark as midnight,
a land of gloom and confusion,
where even the light is dark as midnight.’”
Zophar’s First Response to Job
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied to Job:
2 “Shouldn’t someone answer this torrent of words?
Is a person proved innocent just by a lot of talking?
3 Should I remain silent while you babble on?
When you mock God, shouldn’t someone make you ashamed?
4 You claim, ‘My beliefs are pure,’
and ‘I am clean in the sight of God.’
5 If only God would speak;
if only he would tell you what he thinks!
6 If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom is not a simple matter.
Listen! God is doubtless punishing you
far less than you deserve!
7 “Can you solve the mysteries of God?
Can you discover everything about the Almighty?
8 Such knowledge is higher than the heavens—
and who are you?
It is deeper than the underworld[b]—
what do you know?
9 It is broader than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 If God comes and puts a person in prison
or calls the court to order, who can stop him?
11 For he knows those who are false,
and he takes note of all their sins.
12 An empty-headed person won’t become wise
any more than a wild donkey can bear a human child.[c]
13 “If only you would prepare your heart
and lift up your hands to him in prayer!
14 Get rid of your sins,
and leave all iniquity behind you.
15 Then your face will brighten with innocence.
You will be strong and free of fear.
16 You will forget your misery;
it will be like water flowing away.
17 Your life will be brighter than the noonday.
Even darkness will be as bright as morning.
18 Having hope will give you courage.
You will be protected and will rest in safety.
19 You will lie down unafraid,
and many will look to you for help.
20 But the wicked will be blinded.
They will have no escape.
Their only hope is death.”
Job’s Fourth Speech: A Response to Zophar
12 Then Job spoke again:
2 “You people really know everything, don’t you?
And when you die, wisdom will die with you!
3 Well, I know a few things myself—
and you’re no better than I am.
Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying?
4 Yet my friends laugh at me,
for I call on God and expect an answer.
I am a just and blameless man,
yet they laugh at me.
5 People who are at ease mock those in trouble.
They give a push to people who are stumbling.
6 But robbers are left in peace,
and those who provoke God live in safety—
though God keeps them in his power.[d]
7 “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you.
Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
8 Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you.
Let the fish in the sea speak to you.
9 For they all know
that my disaster[e] has come from the hand of the Lord.
10 For the life of every living thing is in his hand,
and the breath of every human being.
11 The ear tests the words it hears
just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.
12 Wisdom belongs to the aged,
and understanding to the old.
13 “But true wisdom and power are found in God;
counsel and understanding are his.
14 What he destroys cannot be rebuilt.
When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.
15 If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert.
If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.
16 Yes, strength and wisdom are his;
deceivers and deceived are both in his power.
17 He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment;
wise judges become fools.
18 He removes the royal robe of kings.
They are led away with ropes around their waist.
19 He leads priests away, stripped of status;
he overthrows those with long years in power.
20 He silences the trusted adviser
and removes the insight of the elders.
21 He pours disgrace upon princes
and disarms the strong.
22 “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness;
he brings light to the deepest gloom.
23 He builds up nations, and he destroys them.
He expands nations, and he abandons them.
24 He strips kings of understanding
and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
25 They grope in the darkness without a light.
He makes them stagger like drunkards.
Job 10-12
English Standard Version
Job Continues: A Plea to God
10 “I (A)loathe my life;
I will give free utterance to my (B)complaint;
I will speak in (C)the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, Do not (D)condemn me;
let me know why you (E)contend against me.
3 (F)Does it seem good to you to oppress,
to despise (G)the work of your hands
(H)and favor the designs of the wicked?
4 Have you (I)eyes of flesh?
(J)Do you see as man sees?
5 Are your days as the days of man,
or your (K)years as a man's years,
6 that you (L)seek out my iniquity
and search for my sin,
7 although you (M)know that I am not guilty,
and there is (N)none to deliver out of your hand?
8 (O)Your hands fashioned and made me,
and now you have destroyed me altogether.
9 Remember that you have made me like (P)clay;
and will you return me to the (Q)dust?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and steadfast love,
and your care has preserved my spirit.
13 Yet these things you hid in your heart;
I know that (R)this was your purpose.
14 If I sin, you (S)watch me
and do not (T)acquit me of my iniquity.
15 (U)If I am guilty, woe to me!
If I am (V)in the right, I cannot lift up my head,
for I am filled with disgrace
and (W)look on my affliction.
16 And were my head lifted up,[a] you would hunt me like (X)a lion
and again work (Y)wonders against me.
17 You renew your (Z)witnesses against me
and increase your vexation toward me;
you (AA)bring fresh troops against me.
18 (AB)“Why did you bring me out from the womb?
Would that I had died before any eye had seen me
19 (AC)and were as though I had not been,
carried from the womb to the grave.
20 (AD)Are not my days few?
(AE)Then cease, and leave me alone, (AF)that I may find a little cheer
21 before I go—and (AG)I shall not return—
to the land of (AH)darkness and (AI)deep shadow,
22 the land of gloom like thick darkness,
like deep shadow without any order,
where light is as thick darkness.”
Zophar Speaks: You Deserve Worse
11 Then (AJ)Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2 “Should (AK)a multitude of words go unanswered,
and a man full of talk be judged right?
3 Should your babble silence men,
and when you mock, shall no one shame you?
4 For (AL)you say, ‘My (AM)doctrine is pure,
and I am clean in God's[b] eyes.’
5 But oh, that God would speak
and open his lips to you,
6 and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
For he is manifold in (AN)understanding.[c]
Know then that God (AO)exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.
7 (AP)“Can you find out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
8 It is (AQ)higher than heaven[d]—what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth
and broader than the sea.
10 If he (AR)passes through and (AS)imprisons
and summons the court, who can (AT)turn him back?
11 For he knows (AU)worthless men;
when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?
12 But a stupid man will get understanding
when (AV)a wild donkey's colt is (AW)born a man!
13 “If you (AX)prepare your heart,
you will (AY)stretch out your hands toward him.
14 If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
and let not injustice dwell in your tents.
15 Surely then you will (AZ)lift up your face without (BA)blemish;
you will be secure and will not fear.
16 You will (BB)forget your misery;
you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
17 And your life will be (BC)brighter than the noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning.
18 And you will feel secure, because there is hope;
you will look around and (BD)take your rest in security.
19 You will (BE)lie down, and none will make you afraid;
many will (BF)court your favor.
20 But (BG)the eyes of the wicked will fail;
all way of escape will be lost to them,
and their hope is (BH)to breathe their last.”
Job Replies: The Lord Has Done This
12 Then Job answered and said:
2 “No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
3 But I have (BI)understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know (BJ)such things as these?
4 I am (BK)a laughingstock to my friends;
I, who (BL)called to God and he answered me,
a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
5 In the thought of one who is (BM)at ease there is contempt for misfortune;
it is ready for those whose feet slip.
6 (BN)The tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure,
who bring their god in their hand.[e]
7 “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;[f]
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that (BO)the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In (BP)his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
11 Does not (BQ)the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom is with (BR)the aged,
and understanding in length of days.
13 (BS)“With God[g] are wisdom and might;
he has counsel and understanding.
14 If he tears down, none can rebuild;
if he (BT)shuts a man in, none can open.
15 If he (BU)withholds the waters, they dry up;
if he (BV)sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
16 With him are strength and (BW)sound wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads (BX)counselors away stripped,
and (BY)judges he makes fools.
18 He (BZ)looses the bonds of kings
and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
19 He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows the mighty.
20 He deprives of speech those who are trusted
(CA)and takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He (CB)pours contempt on princes
and loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He (CC)uncovers the deeps out of darkness
and brings (CD)deep darkness to light.
23 He (CE)makes nations great, and he destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and (CF)leads them away.
24 He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth
and (CG)makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25 They (CH)grope in the dark without light,
and he makes them (CI)stagger like a drunken man.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
