Job 25-27
Good News Translation
25 1-2 God is powerful; all must stand in awe of him;
he keeps his heavenly kingdom in peace.
3 Can anyone count the angels who serve him?
Is there any place where God's light does not shine?
4 Can anyone be righteous or pure in God's sight?
5 In his eyes even the moon is not bright,
or the stars pure.
6 Then what about a human being, that worm, that insect?
What is a human life worth in God's eyes?
26 1-2 What a big help you are to me—
poor, weak man that I am!
3 You give such good advice
and share your knowledge with a fool like me!
4 Who do you think will hear all your words?
Who inspired you to speak like this?
[Bildad][a]
5 The spirits of the dead tremble
in the waters under the earth.
6 The world of the dead lies open to God;
no covering shields it from his sight.
7 God stretched out the northern sky
and hung the earth in empty space.
8 It is God who fills the clouds with water
and keeps them from bursting with the weight.
9 He hides the full moon behind a cloud.
10 He divided light from darkness
by a circle drawn on the face of the sea.
11 When he threatens the pillars that hold up the sky,
they shake and tremble with fear.
12 It is his strength that conquered the sea;[b]
by his skill he destroyed the monster Rahab.[c]
13 It is his breath that made the sky clear,
and his hand that killed the escaping monster.[d]
14 But these are only hints of his power,
only the whispers that we have heard.
Who can know how truly great God is?
27 1-2 I swear by the living Almighty God,
who refuses me justice and makes my life bitter—
3 as long as God gives me breath,
4 my lips will never say anything evil,
my tongue will never tell a lie.
5 I will never say that you men are right;
I will insist on my innocence to my dying day.
6 I will never give up my claim to be right;
my conscience is clear.
7 May all who oppose me and fight against me
be punished like the wicked and the unrighteous.
8 What hope is there for the godless
in the hour when God demands their life?
9 When trouble comes, will God hear their cries?
10 They should have desired the joy he gives;
they should have constantly prayed to him.
11 Let me teach you how great is God's power,
and explain what Almighty God has planned.
12 But no, after all, you have seen for yourselves;
so why do you talk such nonsense?
[Zophar][e]
13 This is how Almighty God
punishes wicked, violent people.
14 They may have many sons,
but all will be killed in war;
their children never have enough to eat.
15 Those who survive will die from disease,
and even their widows will not mourn their death.
16 The wicked may have too much silver to count
and more clothes than anyone needs;
17 but some good person will wear the clothes,
and someone honest will get the silver.
18 The wicked build houses like a spider's web[f]
or like the hut of a slave guarding the fields.
19 One last time[g] they will lie down rich,
and when they wake up, they will find their wealth gone.
20 Terror will strike like a sudden flood;
a wind in the night will blow them away;
21 the east wind will sweep them from their homes;
22 it will blow down on them without pity
while they try their best to escape.
23 The wind howls at them as they run,
frightening them with destructive power.
Footnotes
- Job 26:5 Bildad is not named in the text, but this speech is usually assigned to him.
- Job 26:12 A reference to an ancient story in which the sea fought against God.
- Job 26:12 See 9.13.
- Job 26:13 See 9.8.
- Job 27:13 Zophar is not named in the text, but this speech is usually assigned to him.
- Job 27:18 Some ancient translations spider's web; Hebrew moth or bird's nest.
- Job 27:19 Some ancient translations One last time; Hebrew They will not be gathered.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.