Job 11-15

New King James Version

² “Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should ^[a]a man full of talk be vindicated?
³ Should your empty talk make men ^[b]hold their peace?
And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?
⁴ For you have said,
^(A)‘My doctrine is pure,
And I am clean in your eyes.’
⁵ But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
⁶ That He would show you the secrets of wisdom!
For they would double your prudence.
Know therefore that ^(B)God ^[c]exacts from you
Less than your iniquity deserves.

⁷ “Can^(C) you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher than heaven—what can you do?
Deeper than ^[d]Sheol—what can you know?
⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.

¹⁰ “If^(D) He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,
Then who can ^[e]hinder Him?
¹¹ For ^(E)He knows deceitful men;
He sees wickedness also.
Will He not then consider it?
¹² For an ^(F)empty-headed man will be wise,
When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.

¹³ “If you would ^(G)prepare your heart,
And ^(H)stretch out your hands toward Him;
¹⁴ If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,
And ^(I)would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
^15 (J)Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;
Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;
¹⁶ Because you would ^(K)forget your misery,
And remember it as waters that have passed away,
¹⁷ And your life ^(L)would be brighter than noonday.
Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.
¹⁸ And you would be secure, because there is hope;
Yes, you would dig around you, and ^(M)take your rest in safety.
¹⁹ You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;
Yes, many would court your favor.
²⁰ But ^(N)the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And they shall not escape,
And ^(O)their hope—^[f]loss of life!”

² “No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!
³ But I have ^[g]understanding as well as you;
I am not ^(P)inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

⁴ “I^(Q) am one mocked by his friends,
Who ^(R)called on God, and He answered him,
The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
⁵ A ^[h]lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for ^(S)those whose feet slip.
^6 (T)The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.

⁷ “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
⁸ Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
⁹ Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
^10 (U)In whose hand is the ^[i]life of every living thing,
And the ^(V)breath of ^[j]all mankind?
¹¹ Does not the ear test words
And the ^[k]mouth taste its food?
¹² Wisdom is with aged men,
And with ^[l]length of days, understanding.

¹³ “With Him are ^(W)wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.
¹⁴ If ^(X)He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
¹⁵ If He ^(Y)withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He ^(Z)sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
¹⁶ With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.
¹⁸ He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.
¹⁹ He leads ^[m]princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.
^20 (AA)He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.
^21 (AB)He pours contempt on princes,
And ^[n]disarms the mighty.
²² He ^(AC)uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.
^23 (AD)He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He ^[o]enlarges nations, and guides them.
²⁴ He takes away the ^[p]understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And ^(AE)makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
^25 (AF)They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them ^(AG)stagger like a drunken man.

¹³ “Hold^[s] your peace with me, and let me speak,
Then let come on me what may!
¹⁴ Why ^(AM)do I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hands?
^15 (AN)Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.
^(AO)Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.
¹⁶ He also shall be my salvation,
For a ^(AP)hypocrite could not come before Him.
¹⁷ Listen carefully to my speech,
And to my declaration with your ears.
¹⁸ See now, I have prepared my case,
I know that I shall be ^(AQ)vindicated.
^19 (AR)Who is he who will contend with me?
If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

²⁸ “Man^[v] decays like a rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

⁷ “For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
⁸ Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
⁹ Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant.
¹⁰ But man dies and ^[z]is laid away;
Indeed he ^[aa]breathes his last
And where is ^(BI)he?
¹¹ As water disappears from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dries up,
¹² So man lies down and does not rise.
^(BJ)Till the heavens are no more,
They will not awake
Nor be roused from their sleep.

¹³ “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
¹⁴ If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service ^(BK)I will wait,
Till my change comes.
^15 (BL)You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.
¹⁶ For now ^(BM)You number my steps,
But do not watch over my sin.
^17 (BN)My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You ^[ab]cover my iniquity.

¹⁸ “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,
And as a rock is moved from its place;
¹⁹ As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
So You destroy the hope of man.
²⁰ You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
You change his countenance and send him away.
²¹ His sons come to honor, and ^(BO)he does not know it;
They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.
²² But his flesh will be in pain over it,
And his soul will mourn over it.”

² “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill ^[ac]himself with the east wind?
³ Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
Or by speeches with which he can do no good?
⁴ Yes, you cast off fear,
And restrain ^[ad]prayer before God.
⁵ For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
^6 (BQ)Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.

⁷ “Are you the first man who was born?
^(BR)Or were you made before the hills?
^8 (BS)Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
^9 (BT)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?
^10 (BU)Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Much older than your father.
¹¹ Are the consolations of God too small for you,
And the word spoken ^[ae]gently with you?
¹² Why does your heart carry you away,
And ^[af]what do your eyes wink at,
¹³ That you turn your spirit against God,
And let such words go out of your mouth?

¹⁴ “What^(BV) is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
^15 (BW)If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
^16 (BX)How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
^(BY)Who drinks iniquity like water!

¹⁷ “I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
¹⁸ What wise men have told,
Not hiding anything received ^(BZ)from their fathers,
¹⁹ To whom alone the ^[ag]land was given,
And ^(CA)no alien passed among them:
²⁰ The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
^(CB)And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.
^21 [ah]Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
^(CC)In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.
²² He does not believe that he will ^(CD)return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.
²³ He ^(CE)wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows ^(CF)that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.
²⁴ Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for ^[ai]battle.
²⁵ For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,
²⁶ Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.

²⁷ “Though^(CG) he has covered his face with his fatness,
And made his waist heavy with fat,
²⁸ He dwells in desolate cities,
In houses which no one inhabits,
Which are destined to become ruins.
²⁹ He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth ^(CH)continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.
³⁰ He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And ^(CI)by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
³¹ Let him not ^(CJ)trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.
³² It will be accomplished ^(CK)before his time,
And his branch will not be green.
³³ He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.
³⁴ For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.
^35 (CL)They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit.”