Job 21-23 (New American Standard Bible)

Job 21

Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked

 ¹Then Job answered,
    ²"Listen carefully to my speech,
         And let this be your way of consolation.
    ³"Bear with me that I may speak;
         Then after I have spoken, you may ^(A)mock.
    ⁴"As for me, is ^(B)my complaint to man?
         And ^(C)why should I not be impatient?
    ⁵"Look at me, and be astonished,
         And ^(D)put your hand over your mouth.
    ⁶"Even when I remember, I am disturbed,
         And ^(E)horror takes hold of my flesh.
    ⁷"Why ^(F)do the wicked still live,
         Continue on, also become very ^(G)powerful?
    ⁸"Their ^(H)descendants are established with them in their sight,
         And their offspring before their eyes,
    ⁹Their houses ^(I)are safe from fear,
         And the rod of God is not on them.
    ¹⁰"His ox mates without fail;
         His cow calves and does not abort.
    ¹¹"They send forth their little ones like the flock,
         And their children skip about.
    ¹²"They sing to the timbrel and harp
         And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
    ¹³"They ^(J)spend their days in prosperity,
         And suddenly they go down to Sheol.
    ¹⁴"They say to God, '^(K)Depart from us!
         We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
    ¹⁵'Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
         And ^(L)what would we gain if we entreat Him?'
    ¹⁶"Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
         The ^(M)counsel of the wicked is far from me.
    ¹⁷"How often is ^(N)the lamp of the wicked put out,
         Or does their ^(O)calamity fall on them?
         Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
    ¹⁸"Are they as ^(P)straw before the wind,
         And like ^(Q)chaff which the storm carries away?
    ¹⁹"You say, '^(R)God stores away a man's iniquity for his sons.'
         Let God repay him so that he may know it.
    ²⁰"Let his ^(S)own eyes see his decay,
         And let him ^(T)drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
    ²¹"For what does he care for his household ^[a]after him,
         When the number of his months is cut off?
    ²²"Can anyone ^(U)teach God knowledge,
         In that He ^(V)judges those on high?
    ²³"One ^(W)dies in his full strength,
         Being wholly at ease and satisfied;
    ²⁴His sides are filled out with fat,
         And the ^(X)marrow of his bones is moist,
    ²⁵While another dies with a bitter soul,
         Never even tasting anything good.
    ²⁶"Together they ^(Y)lie down in the dust,
         And ^(Z)worms cover them.
    ²⁷"Behold, I know your thoughts,
         And the plans by which you would wrong me.
    ²⁸"For you say, 'Where is the house of ^(AA)the nobleman,
         And where is the ^(AB)tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?'
    ²⁹"Have you not asked wayfaring men,
         And do you not recognize their witness?
    ³⁰"For the ^(AC)wicked is reserved for the day of calamity;
         They will be led forth at ^(AD)the day of fury.
    ³¹"Who will confront him with his actions,
         And who will repay him for what he has done?
    ³²"While he is carried to the grave,
         Men will keep watch over his tomb.
    ³³"The ^(AE)clods of the valley will gently cover him;
         Moreover, ^(AF)all men will follow after him,
         While countless ones go before him.
    ³⁴"How then will you vainly ^(AG)comfort me,
         For your answers remain full of falsehood?"

Job 22

Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job

 ¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
    ²"Can a vigorous ^(AH)man be of use to God,
         Or a wise man be useful to himself?
    ³"Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous,
         Or profit if you make your ways perfect?
    ⁴"Is it because of your reverence that He reproves you,
         That He ^(AI)enters into judgment against you?
    ⁵"Is not ^(AJ)your wickedness great,
         And your iniquities without end?
    ⁶"For you have ^(AK)taken pledges of your brothers without cause,
         And ^(AL)stripped men naked.
    ⁷"To the weary you have ^(AM)given no water to drink,
         And from the hungry you have ^(AN)withheld bread.
    ⁸"But the earth ^(AO)belongs to the ^(AP)mighty man,
         And ^(AQ)the honorable man dwells in it.
    ⁹"You have sent ^(AR)widows away empty,
         And the strength of the ^(AS)orphans has been crushed.
    ¹⁰"Therefore ^(AT)snares surround you,
         And sudden ^(AU)dread terrifies you,
    ¹¹Or ^(AV)darkness, so that you cannot see,
         And an ^(AW)abundance of water covers you.
    ¹²"Is not God ^(AX)in the height of heaven?
         Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!
    ¹³"You say, '^(AY)What does God know?
         Can He judge through the thick darkness?
    ¹⁴'^(AZ)Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;
         And He walks on the vault of heaven.'
    ¹⁵"Will you keep to the ancient path
         Which ^(BA)wicked men have trod,
    ¹⁶Who were snatched away ^(BB)before their time,
         Whose ^(BC)foundations were washed away by a river?
    ¹⁷"They ^(BD)said to God, 'Depart from us!'
         And 'What can the Almighty do to them?'
    ¹⁸"Yet He ^(BE)filled their houses with good things;
         But ^(BF)the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
    ¹⁹"The ^(BG)righteous see and are glad,
         And the innocent mock them,
    ²⁰Saying, 'Truly our adversaries are cut off,
         And their abundance ^(BH)the fire has consumed.'
    ²¹"^(BI)Yield now and be at peace with Him;
         Thereby good will come to you.
    ²²"Please receive ^(BJ)instruction from His mouth
         And establish His words in your heart.
    ²³"If you ^(BK)return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
         If you ^(BL)remove unrighteousness far from your tent,
    ²⁴And ^(BM)place your gold in the dust,
         And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
    ²⁵Then the Almighty will be your gold
         And choice silver to you.
    ²⁶"For then you will ^(BN)delight in the Almighty
         And lift up your face to God.
    ²⁷"You will ^(BO)pray to Him, and ^(BP)He will hear you;
         And you will pay your vows.
    ²⁸"You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;
         And ^(BQ)light will shine on your ways.
    ²⁹"When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence,
         And the ^(BR)humble person He will save.
    ³⁰"He will deliver one who is not innocent,
         And he will be ^(BS)delivered through the cleanness of your hands."

Job 23

Job Says He Longs for God

 ¹Then Job replied,
    ²"Even today my ^(BT)complaint is rebellion;
         His hand is ^(BU)heavy despite my groaning.
    ³"Oh that I knew where I might find Him,
         That I might come to His seat!
    ⁴"I would ^(BV)present my case before Him
         And fill my mouth with arguments.
    ⁵"I would learn the words which He would answer,
         And perceive what He would say to me.
    ⁶"Would He contend with me by ^(BW)the greatness of His power?
         No, surely He would pay attention to me.
    ⁷"There the upright would ^(BX)reason with Him;
         And I would be ^(BY)delivered forever from my Judge.
    ⁸"Behold, I go forward but He is not there,
         And backward, but I ^(BZ)cannot perceive Him;
    ⁹When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;
         He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.
    ¹⁰"But He knows the way I take;
         When He has ^(CA)tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
    ¹¹"My foot has ^(CB)held fast to His path;
         I have kept His way and not turned aside.
    ¹²"I have not departed from the command of His lips;
         I have treasured the ^(CC)words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
    ¹³"But He is unique and who can turn Him?
         And what His soul desires, that He does.
    ¹⁴"For He performs what is appointed for me,
         And many such decrees are with Him.
    ¹⁵"Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;
         When I consider, I am terrified of Him.
    ¹⁶"It is God who has made my ^(CD)heart faint,
         And the Almighty who has dismayed me,
    ¹⁷But I ^(CE)am not silenced by the darkness,
         Nor ^(CF)deep gloom which covers me.