Job 29-31 (Contemporary English Version)

Job 29

Job Continues

I Long for the Past

 ¹Job said:

    ²I long for the past,

   when God took care of me,

    ³and the light from his lamp

   showed me the way

   through the dark.

    ⁴I was in the prime of life,

   God All-Powerful

   was my closest friend,

    ⁵and all of my children

   were nearby.

    ⁶My herds gave enough milk

   to bathe my feet,

   and from my olive harvest

   flowed rivers of oil.

    ⁷When I sat down at the meeting

   of the city council,

    ⁸the young leaders stepped aside,

    ⁹while the older ones stood

    ¹⁰and remained silent.

   

Everyone Was Pleased

 ¹¹Everyone was pleased

   with what I said and did.

    ¹²When poor people or orphans

   cried out for help,

   I came to their rescue.

    ¹³And I was highly praised

   for my generosity to widows

   and others in poverty.

    ¹⁴Kindness and justice

   were my coat and hat;

    ¹⁵I was good to the blind

   and to the lame.

    ¹⁶I was a father to the needy,

   and I defended them in court,

   even if they were strangers.

    ¹⁷When criminals attacked,

   I broke their teeth

   and set their victims free.

    ¹⁸I felt certain that I would live

   a long and happy life,

   then die in my own bed.

    ¹⁹In those days I was strong

   like a tree with deep roots

   and with plenty of water,

    ²⁰or like an archer's new bow.

    ²¹Everyone listened in silence

   to my welcome advice,

    ²²and when I finished speaking,

   nothing needed to be said.

    ²³My words were eagerly accepted

   like the showers of spring,

    ²⁴and the smile on my face

   renewed everyone's hopes.

    ²⁵My advice was followed

   as though I were a king

   leading my troops,

   or someone comforting

   those in sorrow.

   

Job 30

Job Continues

Young People Now Insult Me

 ¹Young people now insult me,

   although their fathers

   would have been a disgrace

   to my sheep dogs.

    ²And those who insult me

   are helpless themselves.

    ³They must claw the desert sand

   in the dark

   for something

   to satisfy their hunger. ^{[a] 4}They gather tasteless shrubs

   for food and firewood,

    ⁵and they are run out of towns,

   as though they were thieves.

    ⁶Their only homes are ditches

   or holes between rocks,

    ⁷where they bray like donkeys

   gathering around shrubs.

    ⁸And like senseless donkeys

   they are chased away.

   

Those Worthless Nobodies

 ⁹Those worthless nobodies

   make up jokes and songs

   to disgrace me.

    ¹⁰They are hateful

   and keep their distance,

   even while spitting

   in my direction.

    ¹¹God has destroyed me,

   and so they don't care

   what they do. ^{[b] 12}Their attacks never stop,

   though I am defenseless,

   and my feet are trapped. ^{[c] 13}Without any help,

   they prevent my escape,

   destroying me completely ^{[d] 14}and leaving me crushed.

    ¹⁵Terror has me surrounded;

   my reputation and my riches

   have vanished like a cloud.

   

I Am Sick at Heart

 ¹⁶I am sick at heart!

   Pain has taken its toll.

    ¹⁷Night chews on my bones,

   causing endless torment,

    ¹⁸and God has shrunk my skin,

   choking me to death.

    ¹⁹I have been thrown in the dirt

   and now am dirt myself.

    ²⁰I beg God for help,

   but there is no answer;

   and when I stand up,

   he simply stares.

    ²¹God has turned brutal,

    ²²stirring up a windstorm

   to toss me about.

    ²³Soon he will send me home

   to the world of the dead,

   where we all must go.

    ²⁴No one refuses help to others,

   when disaster strikes. ^{[e] 25}I mourned for the poor

   and those who suffered.

    ²⁶But when I beg for relief

   and light,

   all I receive are disaster

   and darkness.

    ²⁷My stomach is tied in knots;

   pain is my daily companion.

    ²⁸Suffering has scorched my skin,

   and in the city council

   I stand and cry out,

    ²⁹making mournful sounds

   like jackals ^[f] and owls. ³⁰My skin is so parched,

   that it peels right off,

   and my bones are burning.

    ³¹My only songs are sorrow

   and sadness.

   

Job 31

Job Continues

I Promised Myself

 ¹I promised myself

   never to stare with desire

   at a young woman.

    ²God All-Powerful punishes

   men who do that.

    ³In fact, God sends disaster

   on all who sin,

    ⁴and he keeps a close watch

   on everything I do.

    ⁵I am not dishonest or deceitful,

    ⁶and I beg God to prove

   my innocence.

    ⁷If I have disobeyed him

   or even wanted to,

    ⁸then others can eat my harvest

   and uproot my crops.

    ⁹If I have desired someone's wife

   and chased after her,

    ¹⁰then let some stranger

   steal my wife from me.

    ¹¹If I took someone's wife,

   it would be a horrible crime,

    ¹²sending me to destruction

   and my crops to the flames. ^{[g] 13}When my servants

   complained against me,

   I was fair to them.

    ¹⁴Otherwise, what answer

   would I give to God

   when he judges me?

    ¹⁵After all, God is the one

   who gave life to each of us

   before we were born.

   

I Have Never Cheated Anyone

 ¹⁶I have never cheated widows

   or others in need,

    ¹⁷and I have always shared

   my food with orphans.

    ¹⁸Since the time I was young,

   I have cared for orphans

   and helped widows. ^{[h] 19}I provided clothes for the poor,

    ²⁰and I was praised

   for supplying woolen garments

   to keep them warm.

    ²¹If I have ever raised my arm

   to threaten an orphan

   when the power was mine,

    ²²I hope that arm will fall

   from its socket.

    ²³I could not have been abusive;

   I was terrified at the thought

   that God might punish me.

    ²⁴I have never trusted

   the power of wealth,

    ²⁵or taken pride in owning

   many possessions.

    ²⁶I have never openly or secretly

    ²⁷worshiped the sun or moon.

    ²⁸Such horrible sins

   would have deserved

   punishment from God.

    ²⁹I have never laughed

   when my enemies

   were struck by disaster.

    ³⁰Neither have I sinned

   by asking God

   to send down on them

   the curse of death.

    ³¹No one ever went hungry ^[i] at my house,

    ³²and travelers

   were always welcome.

    ³³Many have attempted to hide

   their sins from others--

   but I refused.

    ³⁴And the fear of public disgrace

   never forced me

   to keep silent

   about what I had done.

   

Why Doesn't God Listen?

 ³⁵Why doesn't God All-Powerful

   listen and answer?

   If God has something against me,

   let him speak up

   or put it in writing!

    ³⁶Then I would wear his charges

   on my clothes and forehead.

    ³⁷And with my head held high,

   I would tell him everything

   I have ever done.

    ³⁸I have never mistreated

   the land I farmed

   and made it mourn. ^{[j] 39}Nor have I cheated

   my workers

   and caused them pain. ^{[k] 40}If I had, I would pray

   for weeds instead of wheat

   to grow in my fields.

   After saying these things,

   Job was silent.