Job 10-13 (Contemporary English Version)

Job 10

Job Complains to God

I Am Sick of Life!

 ¹I am sick of life!

   And from my deep despair,

   I complain to you, my God.

    ²Don't just condemn me!

   Point out my sin.

    ³Why do you take such delight

   in destroying those you created

   and in smiling on sinners?

    ⁴Do you look at things

   the way we humans do?

    ⁵Is your life as short as ours?

    ⁶Is that why you are so quick

   to find fault with me?

    ⁷You know I am innocent,

   but who can defend me

   against you?

    ⁸Will you now destroy

   someone you created?

    ⁹Remember that you molded me

   like a piece of clay.

   So don't turn me back

   into dust once again.

    ¹⁰As cheese is made from milk,

   you created my body

   from a tiny drop.

    ¹¹Then you tied my bones together

   with muscles

   and covered them

   with flesh and skin.

    ¹²You, the source of my life,

   showered me with kindness

   and watched over me.

   

You Have Not Explained

 ¹³You have not explained

   all of your mysteries,

    ¹⁴but you catch and punish me

   each time I sin.

    ¹⁵Guilty or innocent,

   I am condemned and ashamed

   because of my troubles.

    ¹⁶No matter how hard I try,

   you keep hunting me down

   like a powerful lion. ^{[a] 17}You never stop accusing me;

   you become furious and attack

   over and over again.

    ¹⁸Why did you let me be born?

   I would rather have died

   before birth

    ¹⁹and been carried to the grave

   without ever breathing.

    ²⁰I have only a few days left.

   Why don't you leave me alone? ^[b] Let me find some relief,

    ²¹before I travel to the land

    ²²of darkness and despair,

   the place of no return.

   

Job 11

Zophar's First Speech

So Much Foolish Talk

 ¹Zophar from Naamah ^[c] said: ²So much foolish talk

   cannot go unanswered.

    ³Your words have silenced others

   and made them ashamed;

   now it is only right for you

   to be put to shame.

    ⁴You claim to be innocent

   and argue that your beliefs

   are acceptable to God.

    ⁵But I wish he would speak

    ⁶and let you know

   that wisdom

   has many different sides.

   You would then discover

   that God has punished you

   less

   than you deserve.

    ⁷Can you understand the mysteries

   surrounding God All-Powerful?

    ⁸They are higher than the heavens

   and deeper than the grave.

   So what can you do

   when you know so little,

    ⁹and these mysteries outreach

   the earth and the ocean?

    ¹⁰If God puts you in prison

   or drags you to court,

   what can you do?

    ¹¹God has the wisdom to know

   when someone is worthless

   and sinful,

    ¹²but it's easier to tame

   a wild donkey

   than to make a fool wise. ^[d]

Surrender Your Heart to God

 ¹³Surrender your heart to God,

   turn to him in prayer,

    ¹⁴and give up your sins--

   even those you do in secret.

    ¹⁵Then you won't be ashamed;

   you will be confident

   and fearless.

    ¹⁶Your troubles will go away

   like water beneath a bridge,

    ¹⁷and your darkest night

   will be brighter than noon.

    ¹⁸You will rest safe and secure,

   filled with hope

   and emptied of worry.

    ¹⁹You will sleep without fear

   and be greatly respected.

    ²⁰But those who are evil

   will go blind and lose their way.

   Their only escape is death!

   

Job 12

Job's Reply to Zophar

You Think You Are So Great

 ¹Job said to his friends:

    ²You think you are so great,

   with all the answers.

    ³But I know as much as you do,

   and so does everyone else.

    ⁴I have always lived right,

   and God answered my prayers;

   now friends make fun of me.

    ⁵It's easy to condemn

   those who are suffering,

   when you have no troubles.

    ⁶Robbers and other godless people

   live safely at home

   and say,

   "God is in our hands!" ^[e]

If You Want To Learn

 ⁷If you want to learn,

   then go and ask

   the wild animals and the birds,

    ⁸the flowers and the fish.

    ⁹Any of them can tell you

   what the LORD has done. ^{[f] 10}Every living creature

   is in the hands of God.

    ¹¹We hear with our ears,

   taste with our tongues,

    ¹²and gain some wisdom from those

   who have lived a long time.

    ¹³But God is the real source

   of wisdom and strength.

    ¹⁴No one can rebuild

   what he destroys,

   or release

   those he has imprisoned.

    ¹⁵God can hold back the rain

   or send a flood,

    ¹⁶just as he rules over liars

   and those they lie to.

    ¹⁷God destroys counselors,

   turns judges into fools,

    ¹⁸and makes slaves of kings.

    ¹⁹God removes priests and others

   who have great power--

    ²⁰he confuses wise,

   experienced advisors,

    ²¹puts mighty kings to shame,

   and takes away their power.

    ²²God turns darkness to light;

    ²³he makes nations strong,

   then shatters their strength.

    ²⁴God strikes their rulers senseless,

   then leaves them to roam

   through barren deserts,

    ²⁵lost in the dark, staggering

   like someone drunk.

   

Job 13

Job Continues

I Know and Understand

 ¹I know and understand

   every bit of this.

    ²None of you are smarter

   than I am;

   there's nothing you know

   that I don't.

    ³But I prefer to argue my case

   with God All-Powerful--

    ⁴you are merely useless doctors,

   who treat me with lies.

    ⁵The wisest thing you can do

   is to keep quiet

    ⁶and listen

   to my argument.

    ⁷Are you telling lies for God

    ⁸and not telling the whole truth

   when you argue his case?

    ⁹If he took you to court,

   could you fool him,

   just as you fool others?

    ¹⁰If you were secretly unfair,

   he would correct you,

    ¹¹and his glorious splendor

   would make you terrified.

    ¹²Your wisdom and arguments

   are as delicate as dust.

   

Be Quiet While I Speak

 ¹³Be quiet while I speak,

   then say what you will.

    ¹⁴I will be responsible

   for what happens to me.

    ¹⁵God may kill me, but still

   I will trust him ^[g] and offer my defense.

    ¹⁶This may be what saves me,

   because no guilty person

   would come to his court.

    ¹⁷Listen carefully to my words!

    ¹⁸I have prepared my case well,

   and I am certain to win.

    ¹⁹If you can prove me guilty,

   I will give up and die.

   

Job Prays

I Ask Only Two Things

 ²⁰I ask only two things

   of you, my God,

   and I will no longer

   hide from you--

    ²¹stop punishing

   and terrifying me!

    ²²Then speak, and I will reply;

   or else let me speak,

   and you reply.

    ²³Please point out my sins,

   so I will know them.

    ²⁴Why have you turned your back

   and count me your enemy?

    ²⁵Do you really enjoy

   frightening a fallen leaf?

    ²⁶Why do you accuse me

   of horrible crimes

   and make me pay for sins

   I did in my youth?

    ²⁷You have tied my feet down

   and keep me surrounded;

    ²⁸I am rotting away like cloth

   eaten by worms.