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Job 1-21
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Job 1-21
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Job and His Family
1 There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt-offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, ‘It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.’ This is what Job always did.
Attack on Job’s Character
6 One day the heavenly beings[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan,[c] ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan[d] answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ 8 The Lord said to Satan,[e] ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.’ 9 Then Satan[f] answered the Lord, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.’ 12 The Lord said to Satan,[g] ‘Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!’ So Satan[h] went out from the presence of the Lord.
Job Loses Property and Children
13 One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were ploughing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ 16 While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ 17 While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ 18 While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, 19 and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.’
20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshipped. 21 He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’
22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.
Attack on Job’s Health
2 One day the heavenly beings[i] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[j] also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Satan,[k] ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan[l] answered the Lord, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ 3 The Lord said to Satan,[m] ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.’ 4 Then Satan[n] answered the Lord, ‘Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives.[o] 5 But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.’ 6 The Lord said to Satan,[p] ‘Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.’
7 So Satan[q] went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 Job[r] took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse[s] God, and die.’ 10 But he said to her, ‘You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Job’s Three Friends
11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. 13 They sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
Job Curses the Day He Was Born
3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 Job said:
3 ‘Let the day perish on which I was born,
and the night that said,
“A man-child is conceived.”
4 Let that day be darkness!
May God above not seek it,
or light shine on it.
5 Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.
Let clouds settle upon it;
let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6 That night—let thick darkness seize it!
let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
let it not come into the number of the months.
7 Yes, let that night be barren;
let no joyful cry be heard[t] in it.
8 Let those curse it who curse the Sea,[u]
those who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan.
9 Let the stars of its dawn be dark;
let it hope for light, but have none;
may it not see the eyelids of the morning—
10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,
and hide trouble from my eyes.
11 ‘Why did I not die at birth,
come forth from the womb and expire?
12 Why were there knees to receive me,
or breasts for me to suck?
13 Now I would be lying down and quiet;
I would be asleep; then I would be at rest
14 with kings and counsellors of the earth
who rebuild ruins for themselves,
15 or with princes who have gold,
who fill their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child,
like an infant that never sees the light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling,
and there the weary are at rest.
18 There the prisoners are at ease together;
they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
19 The small and the great are there,
and the slaves are free from their masters.
20 ‘Why is light given to one in misery,
and life to the bitter in soul,
21 who long for death, but it does not come,
and dig for it more than for hidden treasures;
22 who rejoice exceedingly,
and are glad when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to one who cannot see the way,
whom God has fenced in?
24 For my sighing comes like[v] my bread,
and my groanings are poured out like water.
25 Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me,
and what I dread befalls me.
26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
I have no rest; but trouble comes.’
Eliphaz Speaks: Job Has Sinned
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 ‘If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?
But who can keep from speaking?
3 See, you have instructed many;
you have strengthened the weak hands.
4 Your words have supported those who were stumbling,
and you have made firm the feeble knees.
5 But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
it touches you, and you are dismayed.
6 Is not your fear of God your confidence,
and the integrity of your ways your hope?
7 ‘Think now, who that was innocent ever perished?
Or where were the upright cut off?
8 As I have seen, those who plough iniquity
and sow trouble reap the same.
9 By the breath of God they perish,
and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
10 The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,
and the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
12 ‘Now a word came stealing to me,
my ear received the whisper of it.
13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on mortals,
14 dread came upon me, and trembling,
which made all my bones shake.
15 A spirit glided past my face;
the hair of my flesh bristled.
16 It stood still,
but I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
there was silence, then I heard a voice:
17 “Can mortals be righteous before[w] God?
Can human beings be pure before[x] their Maker?
18 Even in his servants he puts no trust,
and his angels he charges with error;
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth.
20 Between morning and evening they are destroyed;
they perish for ever without any regarding it.
21 Their tent-cord is plucked up within them,
and they die devoid of wisdom.”
Job Is Corrected by God
5 ‘Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 Surely vexation kills the fool,
and jealousy slays the simple.
3 I have seen fools taking root,
but suddenly I cursed their dwelling.
4 Their children are far from safety,
they are crushed in the gate,
and there is no one to deliver them.
5 The hungry eat their harvest,
and they take it even out of the thorns;[y]
and the thirsty[z] pant after their wealth.
6 For misery does not come from the earth,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground;
7 but human beings are born to trouble
just as sparks[aa] fly upward.
8 ‘As for me, I would seek God,
and to God I would commit my cause.
9 He does great things and unsearchable,
marvellous things without number.
10 He gives rain on the earth
and sends waters on the fields;
11 he sets on high those who are lowly,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
13 He takes the wise in their own craftiness;
and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
14 They meet with darkness in the daytime,
and grope at noonday as in the night.
15 But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth,
from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 ‘How happy is the one whom God reproves;
therefore do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.[ab]
18 For he wounds, but he binds up;
he strikes, but his hands heal.
19 He will deliver you from six troubles;
in seven no harm shall touch you.
20 In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in war from the power of the sword.
21 You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
22 At destruction and famine you shall laugh,
and shall not fear the wild animals of the earth.
23 For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals shall be at peace with you.
24 You shall know that your tent is safe,
you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
25 You shall know that your descendants will be many,
and your offspring like the grass of the earth.
26 You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,
as a shock of grain comes up to the threshing-floor in its season.
27 See, we have searched this out; it is true.
Hear, and know it for yourself.’
Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just
6 Then Job answered:
2 ‘O that my vexation were weighed,
and all my calamity laid in the balances!
3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
therefore my words have been rash.
4 For the arrows of the Almighty[ac] are in me;
my spirit drinks their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 Does the wild ass bray over its grass,
or the ox low over its fodder?
6 Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
or is there any flavour in the juice of mallows?[ad]
7 My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are like food that is loathsome to me.[ae]
8 ‘O that I might have my request,
and that God would grant my desire;
9 that it would please God to crush me,
that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
10 This would be my consolation;
I would even exult[af] in unrelenting pain;
for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones,
or is my flesh bronze?
13 In truth I have no help in me,
and any resource is driven from me.
14 ‘Those who withhold[ag] kindness from a friend
forsake the fear of the Almighty.[ah]
15 My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed,
like freshets that pass away,
16 that run dark with ice,
turbid with melting snow.
17 In time of heat they disappear;
when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18 The caravans turn aside from their course;
they go up into the waste, and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look,
the travellers of Sheba hope.
20 They are disappointed because they were confident;
they come there and are confounded.
21 Such you have now become to me;[ai]
you see my calamity, and are afraid.
22 Have I said, “Make me a gift”?
Or, “From your wealth offer a bribe for me”?
23 Or, “Save me from an opponent’s hand”?
Or, “Ransom me from the hand of oppressors”?
24 ‘Teach me, and I will be silent;
make me understand how I have gone wrong.
25 How forceful are honest words!
But your reproof, what does it reprove?
26 Do you think that you can reprove words,
as if the speech of the desperate were wind?
27 You would even cast lots over the orphan,
and bargain over your friend.
28 ‘But now, be pleased to look at me;
for I will not lie to your face.
29 Turn, I pray, let no wrong be done.
Turn now, my vindication is at stake.
30 Is there any wrong on my tongue?
Cannot my taste discern calamity?
Job: My Suffering Is without End
7 ‘Do not human beings have a hard service on earth,
and are not their days like the days of a labourer?
2 Like a slave who longs for the shadow,
and like labourers who look for their wages,
3 so I am allotted months of emptiness,
and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
4 When I lie down I say, “When shall I rise?”
But the night is long,
and I am full of tossing until dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;
my skin hardens, then breaks out again.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
and come to their end without hope.[aj]
7 ‘Remember that my life is a breath;
my eye will never again see good.
8 The eye that beholds me will see me no more;
while your eyes are upon me, I shall be gone.
9 As the cloud fades and vanishes,
so those who go down to Sheol do not come up;
10 they return no more to their houses,
nor do their places know them any more.
11 ‘Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the Sea, or the Dragon,
that you set a guard over me?
13 When I say, “My bed will comfort me,
my couch will ease my complaint”,
14 then you scare me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
15 so that I would choose strangling
and death rather than this body.
16 I loathe my life; I would not live for ever.
Let me alone, for my days are a breath.
17 What are human beings, that you make so much of them,
that you set your mind on them,
18 visit them every morning,
test them every moment?
19 Will you not look away from me for a while,
let me alone until I swallow my spittle?
20 If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of humanity?
Why have you made me your target?
Why have I become a burden to you?
21 Why do you not pardon my transgression
and take away my iniquity?
For now I shall lie in the earth;
you will seek me, but I shall not be.’
Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 ‘How long will you say these things,
and the words of your mouth be a great wind?
3 Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty[ak] pervert the right?
4 If your children sinned against him,
he delivered them into the power of their transgression.
5 If you will seek God
and make supplication to the Almighty,[al]
6 if you are pure and upright,
surely then he will rouse himself for you
and restore to you your rightful place.
7 Though your beginning was small,
your latter days will be very great.
8 ‘For inquire now of bygone generations,
and consider what their ancestors have found;
9 for we are but of yesterday, and we know nothing,
for our days on earth are but a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and tell you
and utter words out of their understanding?
11 ‘Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
12 While yet in flower and not cut down,
they wither before any other plant.
13 Such are the paths of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless shall perish.
14 Their confidence is gossamer,
a spider’s house their trust.
15 If one leans against its house, it will not stand;
if one lays hold of it, it will not endure.
16 The wicked thrive[am] before the sun,
and their shoots spread over the garden.
17 Their roots twine around the stoneheap;
they live among the rocks.[an]
18 If they are destroyed from their place,
then it will deny them, saying, “I have never seen you.”
19 See, these are their happy ways,[ao]
and out of the earth still others will spring.
20 ‘See, God will not reject a blameless person,
nor take the hand of evildoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will be no more.’
Job Replies: There Is No Mediator
9 Then Job answered:
2 ‘Indeed I know that this is so;
but how can a mortal be just before God?
3 If one wished to contend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand.
4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength
—who has resisted him, and succeeded?—
5 he who removes mountains, and they do not know it,
when he overturns them in his anger;
6 who shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble;
7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
who seals up the stars;
8 who alone stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the Sea;[ap]
9 who made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
10 who does great things beyond understanding,
and marvellous things without number.
11 Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12 He snatches away; who can stop him?
Who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
13 ‘God will not turn back his anger;
the helpers of Rahab bowed beneath him.
14 How then can I answer him,
choosing my words with him?
15 Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him;
I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.[aq]
16 If I summoned him and he answered me,
I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.
17 For he crushes me with a tempest,
and multiplies my wounds without cause;
18 he will not let me get my breath,
but fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a contest of strength, he is the strong one!
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?[ar]
20 Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21 I am blameless; I do not know myself;
I loathe my life.
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
he destroys both the blameless and the wicked.
23 When disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity[as] of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
he covers the eyes of its judges—
if it is not he, who then is it?
25 ‘My days are swifter than a runner;
they flee away, they see no good.
26 They go by like skiffs of reed,
like an eagle swooping on the prey.
27 If I say, “I will forget my complaint;
I will put off my sad countenance and be of good cheer”,
28 I become afraid of all my suffering,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29 I shall be condemned;
why then do I labour in vain?
30 If I wash myself with soap
and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 yet you will plunge me into filth,
and my own clothes will abhor me.
32 For he is not a mortal, as I am, that I might answer him,
that we should come to trial together.
33 There is no umpire[at] between us,
who might lay his hand on us both.
34 If he would take his rod away from me,
and not let dread of him terrify me,
35 then I would speak without fear of him,
for I know I am not what I am thought to be.[au]
Job: I Loathe My Life
10 ‘I loathe my life;
I will give free utterance to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, Do not condemn me;
let me know why you contend against me.
3 Does it seem good to you to oppress,
to despise the work of your hands
and favour the schemes of the wicked?
4 Do you have eyes of flesh?
Do you see as humans see?
5 Are your days like the days of mortals,
or your years like human years,
6 that you seek out my iniquity
and search for my sin,
7 although you know that I am not guilty,
and there is no one to deliver out of your hand?
8 Your hands fashioned and made me;
and now you turn and destroy me.[av]
9 Remember that you fashioned me like clay;
and will you turn me to dust again?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and steadfast love,
and your care has preserved my spirit.
13 Yet these things you hid in your heart;
I know that this was your purpose.
14 If I sin, you watch me,
and do not acquit me of my iniquity.
15 If I am wicked, woe to me!
If I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head,
for I am filled with disgrace
and look upon my affliction.
16 Bold as a lion you hunt me;
you repeat your exploits against me.
17 You renew your witnesses against me,
and increase your vexation towards me;
you bring fresh troops against me.[aw]
18 ‘Why did you bring me forth from the womb?
Would that I had died before any eye had seen me,
19 and were as though I had not been,
carried from the womb to the grave.
20 Are not the days of my life few?[ax]
Let me alone, that I may find a little comfort[ay]
21 before I go, never to return,
to the land of gloom and deep darkness,
22 the land of gloom[az] and chaos,
where light is like darkness.’
Zophar Speaks: Job’s Guilt Deserves Punishment
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 ‘Should a multitude of words go unanswered,
and should one full of talk be vindicated?
3 Should your babble put others to silence,
and when you mock, shall no one shame you?
4 For you say, “My conduct[ba] is pure,
and I am clean in God’s[bb] sight.”
5 But O that God would speak,
and open his lips to you,
6 and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
For wisdom is many-sided.[bc]
Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.
7 ‘Can you find out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?[bd]
8 It is higher than heaven[be]—what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth,
and broader than the sea.
10 If he passes through, and imprisons,
and assembles for judgement, who can hinder him?
11 For he knows those who are worthless;
when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?
12 But a stupid person will get understanding,
when a wild ass is born human.[bf]
13 ‘If you direct your heart rightly,
you will stretch out your hands towards him.
14 If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
and do not let wickedness reside in your tents.
15 Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish;
you will be secure, and will not fear.
16 You will forget your misery;
you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
17 And your life will be brighter than the noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning.
18 And you will have confidence, because there is hope;
you will be protected[bg] and take your rest in safety.
19 You will lie down, and no one will make you afraid;
many will entreat your favour.
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail;
all way of escape will be lost to them,
and their hope is to breathe their last.’
Job Replies: I Am a Laughing-stock
12 Then Job answered:
2 ‘No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
3 But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these?
4 I am a laughing-stock to my friends;
I, who called upon God and he answered me,
a just and blameless man, I am a laughing-stock.
5 Those at ease have contempt for misfortune,[bh]
but it is ready for those whose feet are unstable.
6 The tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure,
who bring their god in their hands.[bi]
7 ‘But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 ask the plants of the earth,[bj] and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being.
11 Does not the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Is wisdom with the aged,
and understanding in length of days?
13 ‘With God[bk] are wisdom and strength;
he has counsel and understanding.
14 If he tears down, no one can rebuild;
if he shuts someone in, no one can open up.
15 If he withholds the waters, they dry up;
if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
16 With him are strength and wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads counsellors away stripped,
and makes fools of judges.
18 He looses the sash of kings,
and binds a waistcloth on their loins.
19 He leads priests away stripped,
and overthrows the mighty.
20 He deprives of speech those who are trusted,
and takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He pours contempt on princes,
and looses the belt of the strong.
22 He uncovers the deeps out of darkness,
and brings deep darkness to light.
23 He makes nations great, then destroys them;
he enlarges nations, then leads them away.
24 He strips understanding from the leaders[bl] of the earth,
and makes them wander in a pathless waste.
25 They grope in the dark without light;
he makes them stagger like a drunkard.
13 ‘Look, my eye has seen all this,
my ear has heard and understood it.
2 What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
3 But I would speak to the Almighty,[bm]
and I desire to argue my case with God.
4 As for you, you whitewash with lies;
all of you are worthless physicians.
5 If you would only keep silent,
that would be your wisdom!
6 Hear now my reasoning,
and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
7 Will you speak falsely for God,
and speak deceitfully for him?
8 Will you show partiality towards him,
will you plead the case for God?
9 Will it be well with you when he searches you out?
Or can you deceive him, as one person deceives another?
10 He will surely rebuke you
if in secret you show partiality.
11 Will not his majesty terrify you,
and the dread of him fall upon you?
12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes,
your defences are defences of clay.
13 ‘Let me have silence, and I will speak,
and let come on me what may.
14 I will take my flesh in my teeth,
and put my life in my hand.[bn]
15 See, he will kill me; I have no hope;[bo]
but I will defend my ways to his face.
16 This will be my salvation,
that the godless shall not come before him.
17 Listen carefully to my words,
and let my declaration be in your ears.
18 I have indeed prepared my case;
I know that I shall be vindicated.
19 Who is there that will contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die.
Job’s Despondent Prayer
20 Only grant two things to me,
then I will not hide myself from your face:
21 withdraw your hand far from me,
and do not let dread of you terrify me.
22 Then call, and I will answer;
or let me speak, and you reply to me.
23 How many are my iniquities and my sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin.
24 Why do you hide your face,
and count me as your enemy?
25 Will you frighten a windblown leaf
and pursue dry chaff?
26 For you write bitter things against me,
and make me reap[bp] the iniquities of my youth.
27 You put my feet in the stocks,
and watch all my paths;
you set a bound to the soles of my feet.
28 One wastes away like a rotten thing,
like a garment that is moth-eaten.
14 ‘A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble,
2 comes up like a flower and withers,
flees like a shadow and does not last.
3 Do you fix your eyes on such a one?
Do you bring me into judgement with you?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one can.
5 Since their days are determined,
and the number of their months is known to you,
and you have appointed the bounds that they cannot pass,
6 look away from them, and desist,[bq]
that they may enjoy, like labourers, their days.
7 ‘For there is hope for a tree,
if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root grows old in the earth,
and its stump dies in the ground,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth branches like a young plant.
10 But mortals die, and are laid low;
humans expire, and where are they?
11 As waters fail from a lake,
and a river wastes away and dries up,
12 so mortals lie down and do not rise again;
until the heavens are no more, they will not awake
or be roused out of their sleep.
13 O that you would hide me in Sheol,
that you would conceal me until your wrath is past,
that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If mortals die, will they live again?
All the days of my service I would wait
until my release should come.
15 You would call, and I would answer you;
you would long for the work of your hands.
16 For then you would not[br] number my steps,
you would not keep watch over my sin;
17 my transgression would be sealed up in a bag,
and you would cover over my iniquity.
18 ‘But the mountain falls and crumbles away,
and the rock is removed from its place;
19 the waters wear away the stones;
the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
so you destroy the hope of mortals.
20 You prevail for ever against them, and they pass away;
you change their countenance, and send them away.
21 Their children come to honour, and they do not know it;
they are brought low, and it goes unnoticed.
22 They feel only the pain of their own bodies,
and mourn only for themselves.’
Eliphaz Speaks: Job Undermines Religion
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 ‘Should the wise answer with windy knowledge,
and fill themselves with the east wind?
3 Should they argue in unprofitable talk,
or in words with which they can do no good?
4 But you are doing away with the fear of God,
and hindering meditation before God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
your own lips testify against you.
7 ‘Are you the firstborn of the human race?
Were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Have you listened in the council of God?
And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 The grey-haired and the aged are on our side,
those older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you,
or the word that deals gently with you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away,
and why do your eyes flash,[bs]
13 so that you turn your spirit against God,
and let such words go out of your mouth?
14 What are mortals, that they can be clean?
Or those born of woman, that they can be righteous?
15 God puts no trust even in his holy ones,
and the heavens are not clean in his sight;
16 how much less one who is abominable and corrupt,
one who drinks iniquity like water!
17 ‘I will show you; listen to me;
what I have seen I will declare—
18 what sages have told,
and their ancestors have not hidden,
19 to whom alone the land was given,
and no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked writhe in pain all their days,
through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.
21 Terrifying sounds are in their ears;
in prosperity the destroyer will come upon them.
22 They despair of returning from darkness,
and they are destined for the sword.
23 They wander abroad for bread, saying, “Where is it?”
They know that a day of darkness is ready at hand;
24 distress and anguish terrify them;
they prevail against them, like a king prepared for battle.
25 Because they stretched out their hands against God,
and bid defiance to the Almighty,[bt]
26 running stubbornly against him
with a thick-bossed shield;
27 because they have covered their faces with their fat,
and gathered fat upon their loins,
28 they will live in desolate cities,
in houses that no one should inhabit,
houses destined to become heaps of ruins;
29 they will not be rich, and their wealth will not endure,
nor will they strike root in the earth;[bu]
30 they will not escape from darkness;
the flame will dry up their shoots,
and their blossom[bv] will be swept away[bw] by the wind.
31 Let them not trust in emptiness, deceiving themselves;
for emptiness will be their recompense.
32 It will be paid in full before their time,
and their branch will not be green.
33 They will shake off their unripe grape, like the vine,
and cast off their blossoms, like the olive tree.
34 For the company of the godless is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief and bring forth evil
and their heart prepares deceit.’
Job Reaffirms His Innocence
16 Then Job answered:
2 ‘I have heard many such things;
miserable comforters are you all.
3 Have windy words no limit?
Or what provokes you that you keep on talking?
4 I also could talk as you do,
if you were in my place;
I could join words together against you,
and shake my head at you.
5 I could encourage you with my mouth,
and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.
6 ‘If I speak, my pain is not assuaged,
and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me?
7 Surely now God has worn me out;
he has[bx] made desolate all my company.
8 And he has[by] shrivelled me up,
which is a witness against me;
my leanness has risen up against me,
and it testifies to my face.
9 He has torn me in his wrath, and hated me;
he has gnashed his teeth at me;
my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.
10 They have gaped at me with their mouths;
they have struck me insolently on the cheek;
they mass themselves together against me.
11 God gives me up to the ungodly,
and casts me into the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at ease, and he broke me in two;
he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces;
he set me up as his target;
13 his archers surround me.
He slashes open my kidneys, and shows no mercy;
he pours out my gall on the ground.
14 He bursts upon me again and again;
he rushes at me like a warrior.
15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin,
and have laid my strength in the dust.
16 My face is red with weeping,
and deep darkness is on my eyelids,
17 though there is no violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.
18 ‘O earth, do not cover my blood;
let my outcry find no resting-place.
19 Even now, in fact, my witness is in heaven,
and he that vouches for me is on high.
20 My friends scorn me;
my eye pours out tears to God,
21 that he would maintain the right of a mortal with God,
as[bz] one does for a neighbour.
22 For when a few years have come,
I shall go the way from which I shall not return.
Job Prays for Relief
17 My spirit is broken, my days are extinct,
the grave is ready for me.
2 Surely there are mockers around me,
and my eye dwells on their provocation.
3 ‘Lay down a pledge for me with yourself;
who is there that will give surety for me?
4 Since you have closed their minds to understanding,
therefore you will not let them triumph.
5 Those who denounce friends for reward—
the eyes of their children will fail.
6 ‘He has made me a byword of the peoples,
and I am one before whom people spit.
7 My eye has grown dim from grief,
and all my members are like a shadow.
8 The upright are appalled at this,
and the innocent stir themselves up against the godless.
9 Yet the righteous hold to their way,
and they that have clean hands grow stronger and stronger.
10 But you, come back now, all of you,
and I shall not find a sensible person among you.
11 My days are past, my plans are broken off,
the desires of my heart.
12 They make night into day;
“The light”, they say, “is near to the darkness.”[ca]
13 If I look for Sheol as my house,
if I spread my couch in darkness,
14 if I say to the Pit, “You are my father”,
and to the worm, “My mother”, or “My sister”,
15 where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope?
16 Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?
Shall we descend together into the dust?’
Bildad Speaks: God Punishes the Wicked
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 ‘How long will you hunt for words?
Consider, and then we shall speak.
3 Why are we counted as cattle?
Why are we stupid in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself in your anger—
shall the earth be forsaken because of you,
or the rock be removed out of its place?
5 ‘Surely the light of the wicked is put out,
and the flame of their fire does not shine.
6 The light is dark in their tent,
and the lamp above them is put out.
7 Their strong steps are shortened,
and their own schemes throw them down.
8 For they are thrust into a net by their own feet,
and they walk into a pitfall.
9 A trap seizes them by the heel;
a snare lays hold of them.
10 A rope is hid for them in the ground,
a trap for them in the path.
11 Terrors frighten them on every side,
and chase them at their heels.
12 Their strength is consumed by hunger,[cb]
and calamity is ready for their stumbling.
13 By disease their skin is consumed,[cc]
the firstborn of Death consumes their limbs.
14 They are torn from the tent in which they trusted,
and are brought to the king of terrors.
15 In their tents nothing remains;
sulphur is scattered upon their habitations.
16 Their roots dry up beneath,
and their branches wither above.
17 Their memory perishes from the earth,
and they have no name in the street.
18 They are thrust from light into darkness,
and driven out of the world.
19 They have no offspring or descendant among their people,
and no survivor where they used to live.
20 They of the west are appalled at their fate,
and horror seizes those of the east.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the ungodly,
such is the place of those who do not know God.’
Job Replies: I Know That My Redeemer Lives
19 Then Job answered:
2 ‘How long will you torment me,
and break me in pieces with words?
3 These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;
are you not ashamed to wrong me?
4 And even if it is true that I have erred,
my error remains with me.
5 If indeed you magnify yourselves against me,
and make my humiliation an argument against me,
6 know then that God has put me in the wrong,
and closed his net around me.
7 Even when I cry out, “Violence!” I am not answered;
I call aloud, but there is no justice.
8 He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
and he has set darkness upon my paths.
9 He has stripped my glory from me,
and taken the crown from my head.
10 He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,
he has uprooted my hope like a tree.
11 He has kindled his wrath against me,
and counts me as his adversary.
12 His troops come on together;
they have thrown up siege-works[cd] against me,
and encamp around my tent.
13 ‘He has put my family far from me,
and my acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.
14 My relatives and my close friends have failed me;
15 the guests in my house have forgotten me;
my serving-girls count me as a stranger;
I have become an alien in their eyes.
16 I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;
I must myself plead with him.
17 My breath is repulsive to my wife;
I am loathsome to my own family.
18 Even young children despise me;
when I rise, they talk against me.
19 All my intimate friends abhor me,
and those whom I loved have turned against me.
20 My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh,
and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends,
for the hand of God has touched me!
22 Why do you, like God, pursue me,
never satisfied with my flesh?
23 ‘O that my words were written down!
O that they were inscribed in a book!
24 O that with an iron pen and with lead
they were engraved on a rock for ever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer[ce] lives,
and that at the last he[cf] will stand upon the earth;[cg]
26 and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then in[ch] my flesh I shall see God,[ci]
27 whom I shall see on my side,[cj]
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!
28 If you say, “How we will persecute him!”
and, “The root of the matter is found in him”;
29 be afraid of the sword,
for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
so that you may know there is a judgement.’
Zophar Speaks: Wickedness Receives Just Retribution
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 ‘Pay attention! My thoughts urge me to answer,
because of the agitation within me.
3 I hear censure that insults me,
and a spirit beyond my understanding answers me.
4 Do you not know this from of old,
ever since mortals were placed on earth,
5 that the exulting of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the godless is but for a moment?
6 Even though they mount up high as the heavens,
and their head reaches to the clouds,
7 they will perish for ever like their own dung;
those who have seen them will say, “Where are they?”
8 They will fly away like a dream, and not be found;
they will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9 The eye that saw them will see them no more,
nor will their place behold them any longer.
10 Their children will seek the favour of the poor,
and their hands will give back their wealth.
11 Their bodies, once full of youth,
will lie down in the dust with them.
12 ‘Though wickedness is sweet in their mouth,
though they hide it under their tongues,
13 though they are loath to let it go,
and hold it in their mouths,
14 yet their food is turned in their stomachs;
it is the venom of asps within them.
15 They swallow down riches and vomit them up again;
God casts them out of their bellies.
16 They will suck the poison of asps;
the tongue of a viper will kill them.
17 They will not look on the rivers,
the streams flowing with honey and curds.
18 They will give back the fruit of their toil,
and will not swallow it down;
from the profit of their trading
they will get no enjoyment.
19 For they have crushed and abandoned the poor,
they have seized a house that they did not build.
20 ‘They knew no quiet in their bellies;
in their greed they let nothing escape.
21 There was nothing left after they had eaten;
therefore their prosperity will not endure.
22 In full sufficiency they will be in distress;
all the force of misery will come upon them.
23 To fill their belly to the full
God[ck] will send his fierce anger into them,
and rain it upon them as their food.[cl]
24 They will flee from an iron weapon;
a bronze arrow will strike them through.
25 It is drawn forth and comes out of their body,
and the glittering point comes out of their gall;
terrors come upon them.
26 Utter darkness is laid up for their treasures;
a fire fanned by no one will devour them;
what is left in their tent will be consumed.
27 The heavens will reveal their iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against them.
28 The possessions of their house will be carried away,
dragged off on the day of God’s[cm] wrath.
29 This is the portion of the wicked from God,
the heritage decreed for them by God.’
Job Replies: The Wicked Often Go Unpunished
21 Then Job answered:
2 ‘Listen carefully to my words,
and let this be your consolation.
3 Bear with me, and I will speak;
then after I have spoken, mock on.
4 As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals?
Why should I not be impatient?
5 Look at me, and be appalled,
and lay your hand upon your mouth.
6 When I think of it I am dismayed,
and shuddering seizes my flesh.
7 Why do the wicked live on,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
8 Their children are established in their presence,
and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon them.
10 Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves and never miscarries.
11 They send out their little ones like a flock,
and their children dance around.
12 They sing to the tambourine and the lyre,
and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their days in prosperity,
and in peace they go down to Sheol.
14 They say to God, “Leave us alone!
We do not desire to know your ways.
Footnotes
- Job 1:6 Heb sons of God
- Job 1:6 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 1:7 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 1:7 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 1:8 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 1:9 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 1:12 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 1:12 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 2:1 Heb sons of God
- Job 2:1 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 2:2 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 2:2 Or The Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 2:3 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 2:4 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 2:4 Or All that the man has he will give for his life
- Job 2:6 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 2:7 Or the Accuser; Heb ha-satan
- Job 2:8 Heb He
- Job 2:9 Heb Bless
- Job 3:7 Heb come
- Job 3:8 Cn: Heb day
- Job 3:24 Heb before
- Job 4:17 Or more than
- Job 4:17 Or more than
- Job 5:5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 5:5 Aquila Symmachus Syr Vg: Heb snare
- Job 5:7 Or birds; Heb sons of Resheph
- Job 5:17 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- Job 6:4 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- Job 6:6 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 6:7 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 6:10 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 6:14 Syr Vg Compare Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 6:14 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- Job 6:21 Cn Compare Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 7:6 Or as the thread runs out
- Job 8:3 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- Job 8:5 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- Job 8:16 Heb He thrives
- Job 8:17 Gk Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 8:19 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 9:8 Or trampled the back of the sea dragon
- Job 9:15 Or for my right
- Job 9:19 Compare Gk: Heb me
- Job 9:23 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 9:33 Another reading is Would that there were an umpire
- Job 9:35 Cn: Heb for I am not so in myself
- Job 10:8 Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb made me together all around, and you destroy me
- Job 10:17 Cn Compare Gk: Heb towards me; changes and a troop are with me
- Job 10:20 Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb Are not my days few? Let him cease!
- Job 10:20 Heb that I may brighten up a little
- Job 10:22 Heb gloom as darkness, deep darkness
- Job 11:4 Gk: Heb teaching
- Job 11:4 Heb your
- Job 11:6 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 11:7 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- Job 11:8 Heb The heights of heaven
- Job 11:12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 11:18 Or you will look around
- Job 12:5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 12:6 Or whom God brought forth by his hand; Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 12:8 Or speak to the earth
- Job 12:13 Heb him
- Job 12:24 Heb adds of the people
- Job 13:3 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- Job 13:14 Gk: Heb Why should I take . . . in my hand?
- Job 13:15 Or Though he kill me, yet I will trust in him
- Job 13:26 Heb inherit
- Job 14:6 Cn: Heb that they may desist
- Job 14:16 Syr: Heb lacks not
- Job 15:12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 15:25 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- Job 15:29 Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 15:30 Gk: Heb mouth
- Job 15:30 Cn: Heb will depart
- Job 16:7 Heb you have
- Job 16:8 Heb you have
- Job 16:21 Syr Vg Tg: Heb and
- Job 17:12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 18:12 Or Disaster is hungry for them
- Job 18:13 Cn: Heb It consumes the limbs of his skin
- Job 19:12 Cn: Heb their way
- Job 19:25 Or Vindicator
- Job 19:25 Or that he the Last
- Job 19:25 Heb dust
- Job 19:26 Or without
- Job 19:26 Meaning of Heb of this verse uncertain
- Job 19:27 Or for myself
- Job 20:23 Heb he
- Job 20:23 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 20:28 Heb his
Job 1-11
New International Version
Job 1-11
New International Version
Prologue
1 In the land of Uz(A) there lived a man whose name was Job.(B) This man was blameless(C) and upright;(D) he feared God(E) and shunned evil.(F) 2 He had seven sons(G) and three daughters,(H) 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys,(I) and had a large number of servants.(J) He was the greatest man(K) among all the people of the East.(L)
4 His sons used to hold feasts(M) in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified.(N) Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering(O) for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned(P) and cursed God(Q) in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
6 One day the angels[a](R) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b](S) also came with them.(T) 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”(U)
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job?(V) There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God(W) and shuns evil.”(X)
9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?”(Y) Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge(Z) around him and his household and everything he has?(AA) You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.(AB) 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has,(AC) and he will surely curse you to your face.”(AD)
12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has(AE) is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”(AF)
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters(AG) were feasting(AH) and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing(AI) nearby, 15 and the Sabeans(AJ) attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens(AK) and burned up the sheep and the servants,(AL) and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans(AM) formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters(AN) were feasting(AO) and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind(AP) swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead,(AQ) and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!(AR)”
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe(AS) and shaved his head.(AT) Then he fell to the ground in worship(AU) 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.[c](AV)
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;(AW)
may the name of the Lord be praised.”(AX)
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.(AY)
2 On another day the angels[d](AZ) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them(BA) to present himself before him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”(BB)
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.(BC) And he still maintains his integrity,(BD) though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”(BE)
4 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has(BF) for his own life. 5 But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones,(BG) and he will surely curse you to your face.”(BH)
6 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands;(BI) but you must spare his life.”(BJ)
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.(BK) 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.(BL)
9 His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity?(BM) Curse God and die!”(BN)
10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish[e] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”(BO)
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.(BP)
11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite,(BQ) Bildad the Shuhite(BR) and Zophar the Naamathite,(BS) heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.(BT) 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him;(BU) they began to weep aloud,(BV) and they tore their robes(BW) and sprinkled dust on their heads.(BX) 13 Then they sat on the ground(BY) with him for seven days and seven nights.(BZ) No one said a word to him,(CA) because they saw how great his suffering was.
Job Speaks
3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.(CB) 2 He said:
3 “May the day of my birth perish,
and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’(CC)
4 That day—may it turn to darkness;
may God above not care about it;
may no light shine on it.
5 May gloom and utter darkness(CD) claim it once more;
may a cloud settle over it;
may blackness overwhelm it.
6 That night—may thick darkness(CE) seize it;
may it not be included among the days of the year
nor be entered in any of the months.
7 May that night be barren;
may no shout of joy(CF) be heard in it.
8 May those who curse days[f] curse that day,(CG)
those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.(CH)
9 May its morning stars become dark;
may it wait for daylight in vain
and not see the first rays of dawn,(CI)
10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
to hide trouble from my eyes.
11 “Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb?(CJ)
12 Why were there knees to receive me(CK)
and breasts that I might be nursed?
13 For now I would be lying down(CL) in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest(CM)
14 with kings and rulers of the earth,(CN)
who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,(CO)
15 with princes(CP) who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.(CQ)
16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,(CR)
like an infant who never saw the light of day?(CS)
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,(CT)
and there the weary are at rest.(CU)
18 Captives(CV) also enjoy their ease;
they no longer hear the slave driver’s(CW) shout.(CX)
19 The small and the great are there,(CY)
and the slaves are freed from their owners.
20 “Why is light given to those in misery,
and life to the bitter of soul,(CZ)
21 to those who long for death that does not come,(DA)
who search for it more than for hidden treasure,(DB)
22 who are filled with gladness
and rejoice when they reach the grave?(DC)
23 Why is life given to a man
whose way is hidden,(DD)
whom God has hedged in?(DE)
24 For sighing(DF) has become my daily food;(DG)
my groans(DH) pour out like water.(DI)
25 What I feared has come upon me;
what I dreaded(DJ) has happened to me.(DK)
26 I have no peace,(DL) no quietness;
I have no rest,(DM) but only turmoil.”(DN)
Eliphaz
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(DO) replied:
2 “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
But who can keep from speaking?(DP)
3 Think how you have instructed many,(DQ)
how you have strengthened feeble hands.(DR)
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;(DS)
you have strengthened faltering knees.(DT)
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;(DU)
it strikes(DV) you, and you are dismayed.(DW)
6 Should not your piety be your confidence(DX)
and your blameless(DY) ways your hope?
7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?(DZ)
Where were the upright ever destroyed?(EA)
8 As I have observed,(EB) those who plow evil(EC)
and those who sow trouble reap it.(ED)
9 At the breath of God(EE) they perish;
at the blast of his anger they are no more.(EF)
10 The lions may roar(EG) and growl,
yet the teeth of the great lions(EH) are broken.(EI)
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,(EJ)
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.(EK)
12 “A word(EL) was secretly brought to me,
my ears caught a whisper(EM) of it.(EN)
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
when deep sleep falls on people,(EO)
14 fear and trembling(EP) seized me
and made all my bones shake.(EQ)
15 A spirit glided past my face,
and the hair on my body stood on end.(ER)
16 It stopped,
but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
and I heard a hushed voice:(ES)
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?(ET)
Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?(EU)
18 If God places no trust in his servants,(EV)
if he charges his angels with error,(EW)
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,(EX)
whose foundations(EY) are in the dust,(EZ)
who are crushed(FA) more readily than a moth!(FB)
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
unnoticed, they perish forever.(FC)
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,(FD)
so that they die(FE) without wisdom?’(FF)
5 “Call if you will, but who will answer you?(FG)
To which of the holy ones(FH) will you turn?
2 Resentment(FI) kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.(FJ)
3 I myself have seen(FK) a fool taking root,(FL)
but suddenly(FM) his house was cursed.(FN)
4 His children(FO) are far from safety,(FP)
crushed in court(FQ) without a defender.(FR)
5 The hungry consume his harvest,(FS)
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6 For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.(FT)
7 Yet man is born to trouble(FU)
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.(FV)
9 He performs wonders(FW) that cannot be fathomed,(FX)
miracles that cannot be counted.(FY)
10 He provides rain for the earth;(FZ)
he sends water on the countryside.(GA)
11 The lowly he sets on high,(GB)
and those who mourn(GC) are lifted(GD) to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans(GE) of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.(GF)
13 He catches the wise(GG) in their craftiness,(GH)
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.(GI)
14 Darkness(GJ) comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.(GK)
15 He saves the needy(GL) from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.(GM)
16 So the poor(GN) have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.(GO)
17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;(GP)
so do not despise the discipline(GQ) of the Almighty.[g](GR)
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;(GS)
he injures, but his hands also heal.(GT)
19 From six calamities he will rescue(GU) you;
in seven no harm will touch you.(GV)
20 In famine(GW) he will deliver you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword.(GX)
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,(GY)
and need not fear(GZ) when destruction comes.(HA)
22 You will laugh(HB) at destruction and famine,(HC)
and need not fear the wild animals.(HD)
23 For you will have a covenant(HE) with the stones(HF) of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.(HG)
24 You will know that your tent is secure;(HH)
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.(HI)
25 You will know that your children will be many,(HJ)
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.(HK)
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,(HL)
like sheaves gathered in season.(HM)
Job
6 Then Job replied:
2 “If only my anguish could be weighed
and all my misery be placed on the scales!(HP)
3 It would surely outweigh the sand(HQ) of the seas—
no wonder my words have been impetuous.(HR)
4 The arrows(HS) of the Almighty(HT) are in me,(HU)
my spirit drinks(HV) in their poison;(HW)
God’s terrors(HX) are marshaled against me.(HY)
5 Does a wild donkey(HZ) bray(IA) when it has grass,
or an ox bellow when it has fodder?(IB)
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow[h]?(IC)
7 I refuse to touch it;
such food makes me ill.(ID)
8 “Oh, that I might have my request,
that God would grant what I hope for,(IE)
9 that God would be willing to crush(IF) me,
to let loose his hand and cut off my life!(IG)
10 Then I would still have this consolation(IH)—
my joy in unrelenting pain(II)—
that I had not denied the words(IJ) of the Holy One.(IK)
11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
What prospects, that I should be patient?(IL)
12 Do I have the strength of stone?
Is my flesh bronze?(IM)
13 Do I have any power to help myself,(IN)
now that success has been driven from me?
14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend(IO)
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.(IP)
15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,(IQ)
as the streams that overflow
16 when darkened by thawing ice
and swollen with melting snow,(IR)
17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,
and in the heat(IS) vanish from their channels.
18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;
they go off into the wasteland and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema(IT) look for water,
the traveling merchants of Sheba(IU) look in hope.
20 They are distressed, because they had been confident;
they arrive there, only to be disappointed.(IV)
21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;
you see something dreadful and are afraid.(IW)
22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
pay a ransom(IX) for me from your wealth,(IY)
23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?(IZ)
24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;(JA)
show me where I have been wrong.(JB)
25 How painful are honest words!(JC)
But what do your arguments prove?
26 Do you mean to correct what I say,
and treat my desperate words as wind?(JD)
27 You would even cast lots(JE) for the fatherless(JF)
and barter away your friend.
28 “But now be so kind as to look at me.
Would I lie to your face?(JG)
29 Relent, do not be unjust;(JH)
reconsider, for my integrity(JI) is at stake.[i](JJ)
30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?(JK)
Can my mouth not discern(JL) malice?
7 “Do not mortals have hard service(JM) on earth?(JN)
Are not their days like those of hired laborers?(JO)
2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,(JP)
or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,(JQ)
3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
and nights of misery have been assigned to me.(JR)
4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’(JS)
The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.(JT)
5 My body is clothed with worms(JU) and scabs,
my skin is broken and festering.(JV)
6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,(JW)
and they come to an end without hope.(JX)
7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;(JY)
my eyes will never see happiness again.(JZ)
8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
you will look for me, but I will be no more.(KA)
9 As a cloud vanishes(KB) and is gone,
so one who goes down to the grave(KC) does not return.(KD)
10 He will never come to his house again;
his place(KE) will know him no more.(KF)
11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;(KG)
I will speak out in the anguish(KH) of my spirit,
I will complain(KI) in the bitterness of my soul.(KJ)
12 Am I the sea,(KK) or the monster of the deep,(KL)
that you put me under guard?(KM)
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
and my couch will ease my complaint,(KN)
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
and terrify(KO) me with visions,(KP)
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,(KQ)
rather than this body of mine.(KR)
16 I despise my life;(KS) I would not live forever.(KT)
Let me alone;(KU) my days have no meaning.(KV)
17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
that you give them so much attention,(KW)
18 that you examine them every morning(KX)
and test them(KY) every moment?(KZ)
19 Will you never look away from me,(LA)
or let me alone even for an instant?(LB)
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,(LC)
you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?(LD)
Have I become a burden to you?[j](LE)
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
and forgive my sins?(LF)
For I will soon lie down in the dust;(LG)
you will search for me, but I will be no more.”(LH)
Bildad
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite(LI) replied:
2 “How long will you say such things?(LJ)
Your words are a blustering wind.(LK)
3 Does God pervert justice?(LL)
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(LM)
4 When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.(LN)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
and plead(LO) with the Almighty,(LP)
6 if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(LQ)
and restore you to your prosperous state.(LR)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous(LS) will your future be.(LT)
8 “Ask the former generation(LU)
and find out what their ancestors learned,
9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,(LV)
and our days on earth are but a shadow.(LW)
10 Will they not instruct(LX) you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?(LY)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?(LZ)
Can reeds(MA) thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.(MB)
13 Such is the destiny(MC) of all who forget God;(MD)
so perishes the hope of the godless.(ME)
14 What they trust in is fragile[k];
what they rely on is a spider’s web.(MF)
15 They lean on the web,(MG) but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.(MH)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots(MI) over the garden;(MJ)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns(MK) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’(ML)
19 Surely its life withers(MM) away,
and[l] from the soil other plants grow.(MN)
20 “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless(MO)
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.(MP)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter(MQ)
and your lips with shouts of joy.(MR)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,(MS)
and the tents(MT) of the wicked will be no more.”(MU)
Job
9 Then Job replied:
2 “Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?(MV)
3 Though they wished to dispute with him,(MW)
they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.(MX)
4 His wisdom(MY) is profound, his power is vast.(MZ)
Who has resisted(NA) him and come out unscathed?(NB)
5 He moves mountains(NC) without their knowing it
and overturns them in his anger.(ND)
6 He shakes the earth(NE) from its place
and makes its pillars tremble.(NF)
7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;(NG)
he seals off the light of the stars.(NH)
8 He alone stretches out the heavens(NI)
and treads on the waves of the sea.(NJ)
9 He is the Maker(NK) of the Bear[m] and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.(NL)
10 He performs wonders(NM) that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.(NN)
11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.(NO)
12 If he snatches away, who can stop him?(NP)
Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’(NQ)
13 God does not restrain his anger;(NR)
even the cohorts of Rahab(NS) cowered at his feet.
14 “How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?(NT)
15 Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;(NU)
I could only plead(NV) with my Judge(NW) for mercy.(NX)
16 Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.(NY)
17 He would crush me(NZ) with a storm(OA)
and multiply(OB) my wounds for no reason.(OC)
18 He would not let me catch my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.(OD)
19 If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!(OE)
And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him[n]?(OF)
20 Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.(OG)
21 “Although I am blameless,(OH)
I have no concern for myself;(OI)
I despise my own life.(OJ)
22 It is all the same; that is why I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’(OK)
23 When a scourge(OL) brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.(OM)
24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,(ON)
he blindfolds its judges.(OO)
If it is not he, then who is it?(OP)
25 “My days are swifter than a runner;(OQ)
they fly away without a glimpse of joy.(OR)
26 They skim past(OS) like boats of papyrus,(OT)
like eagles swooping down on their prey.(OU)
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,(OV)
I will change my expression, and smile,’
28 I still dread(OW) all my sufferings,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.(OX)
29 Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?(OY)
30 Even if I washed myself with soap(OZ)
and my hands(PA) with cleansing powder,(PB)
31 you would plunge me into a slime pit(PC)
so that even my clothes would detest me.(PD)
32 “He is not a mere mortal(PE) like me that I might answer him,(PF)
that we might confront each other in court.(PG)
33 If only there were someone to mediate between us,(PH)
someone to bring us together,(PI)
34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,(PJ)
so that his terror would frighten me no more.(PK)
35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,(PL)
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.(PM)
10 “I loathe my very life;(PN)
therefore I will give free rein to my complaint
and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.(PO)
2 I say to God:(PP) Do not declare me guilty,
but tell me what charges(PQ) you have against me.(PR)
3 Does it please you to oppress me,(PS)
to spurn the work of your hands,(PT)
while you smile on the plans of the wicked?(PU)
4 Do you have eyes of flesh?
Do you see as a mortal sees?(PV)
5 Are your days like those of a mortal
or your years like those of a strong man,(PW)
6 that you must search out my faults
and probe after my sin(PX)—
7 though you know that I am not guilty(PY)
and that no one can rescue me from your hand?(PZ)
8 “Your hands shaped(QA) me and made me.
Will you now turn and destroy me?(QB)
9 Remember that you molded me like clay.(QC)
Will you now turn me to dust again?(QD)
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese,
11 clothe me with skin and flesh
and knit me together(QE) with bones and sinews?
12 You gave me life(QF) and showed me kindness,(QG)
and in your providence(QH) watched over(QI) my spirit.
13 “But this is what you concealed in your heart,
and I know that this was in your mind:(QJ)
14 If I sinned, you would be watching me(QK)
and would not let my offense go unpunished.(QL)
15 If I am guilty(QM)—woe to me!(QN)
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,(QO)
for I am full of shame
and drowned in[o] my affliction.(QP)
16 If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion(QQ)
and again display your awesome power against me.(QR)
17 You bring new witnesses against me(QS)
and increase your anger toward me;(QT)
your forces come against me wave upon wave.(QU)
18 “Why then did you bring me out of the womb?(QV)
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.(QW)
19 If only I had never come into being,
or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!(QX)
20 Are not my few days(QY) almost over?(QZ)
Turn away from me(RA) so I can have a moment’s joy(RB)
21 before I go to the place of no return,(RC)
to the land of gloom and utter darkness,(RD)
22 to the land of deepest night,
of utter darkness(RE) and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness.”(RF)
Zophar
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite(RG) replied:
2 “Are all these words to go unanswered?(RH)
Is this talker to be vindicated?(RI)
3 Will your idle talk(RJ) reduce others to silence?
Will no one rebuke you when you mock?(RK)
4 You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless(RL)
and I am pure(RM) in your sight.’
5 Oh, how I wish that God would speak,(RN)
that he would open his lips against you
6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,(RO)
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.(RP)
Footnotes
- Job 1:6 Hebrew the sons of God
- Job 1:6 Hebrew satan means adversary.
- Job 1:21 Or will return there
- Job 2:1 Hebrew the sons of God
- Job 2:10 The Hebrew word rendered foolish denotes moral deficiency.
- Job 3:8 Or curse the sea
- Job 5:17 Hebrew Shaddai; here and throughout Job
- Job 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Job 6:29 Or my righteousness still stands
- Job 7:20 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition and Septuagint; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text I have become a burden to myself.
- Job 8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Job 8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that
- Job 9:9 Or of Leo
- Job 9:19 See Septuagint; Hebrew me.
- Job 10:15 Or and aware of
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