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Job 10-14
New International Version
Job 10-14
New International Version
10 “I loathe my very life;(A)
therefore I will give free rein to my complaint
and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.(B)
2 I say to God:(C) Do not declare me guilty,
but tell me what charges(D) you have against me.(E)
3 Does it please you to oppress me,(F)
to spurn the work of your hands,(G)
while you smile on the plans of the wicked?(H)
4 Do you have eyes of flesh?
Do you see as a mortal sees?(I)
5 Are your days like those of a mortal
or your years like those of a strong man,(J)
6 that you must search out my faults
and probe after my sin(K)—
7 though you know that I am not guilty(L)
and that no one can rescue me from your hand?(M)
8 “Your hands shaped(N) me and made me.
Will you now turn and destroy me?(O)
9 Remember that you molded me like clay.(P)
Will you now turn me to dust again?(Q)
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(R) with bones and sinews?
12 You gave me life(S) and showed me kindness,(T)
and in your providence(U) watched over(V) my spirit.
13 “But this is what you concealed in your heart,
and I know that this was in your mind:(W)
14 If I sinned, you would be watching me(X)
and would not let my offense go unpunished.(Y)
15 If I am guilty(Z)—woe to me!(AA)
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,(AB)
for I am full of shame
and drowned in[a] my affliction.(AC)
16 If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion(AD)
and again display your awesome power against me.(AE)
17 You bring new witnesses against me(AF)
and increase your anger toward me;(AG)
your forces come against me wave upon wave.(AH)
18 “Why then did you bring me out of the womb?(AI)
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.(AJ)
19 If only I had never come into being,
or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!(AK)
20 Are not my few days(AL) almost over?(AM)
Turn away from me(AN) so I can have a moment’s joy(AO)
21 before I go to the place of no return,(AP)
to the land of gloom and utter darkness,(AQ)
22 to the land of deepest night,
of utter darkness(AR) and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness.”(AS)
Zophar
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite(AT) replied:
2 “Are all these words to go unanswered?(AU)
Is this talker to be vindicated?(AV)
3 Will your idle talk(AW) reduce others to silence?
Will no one rebuke you when you mock?(AX)
4 You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless(AY)
and I am pure(AZ) in your sight.’
5 Oh, how I wish that God would speak,(BA)
that he would open his lips against you
6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,(BB)
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.(BC)
7 “Can you fathom(BD) the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
8 They are higher(BE) than the heavens(BF) above—what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths below(BG)—what can you know?(BH)
9 Their measure(BI) is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.(BJ)
10 “If he comes along and confines you in prison
and convenes a court, who can oppose him?(BK)
11 Surely he recognizes deceivers;
and when he sees evil, does he not take note?(BL)
12 But the witless can no more become wise
than a wild donkey’s colt(BM) can be born human.[b](BN)
13 “Yet if you devote your heart(BO) to him
and stretch out your hands(BP) to him,(BQ)
14 if you put away(BR) the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil(BS) to dwell in your tent,(BT)
15 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face;(BU)
you will stand firm(BV) and without fear.(BW)
16 You will surely forget your trouble,(BX)
recalling it only as waters gone by.(BY)
17 Life will be brighter than noonday,(BZ)
and darkness will become like morning.(CA)
18 You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your rest(CB) in safety.(CC)
19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,(CD)
and many will court your favor.(CE)
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,(CF)
and escape will elude them;(CG)
their hope will become a dying gasp.”(CH)
Job
12 Then Job replied:
2 “Doubtless you are the only people who matter,
and wisdom will die with you!(CI)
3 But I have a mind as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know all these things?(CJ)
4 “I have become a laughingstock(CK) to my friends,(CL)
though I called on God and he answered(CM)—
a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!(CN)
5 Those who are at ease have contempt(CO) for misfortune
as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.(CP)
6 The tents of marauders are undisturbed,(CQ)
and those who provoke God are secure(CR)—
those God has in his hand.[c]
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,(CS)
or the birds in the sky,(CT) and they will tell you;(CU)
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know(CV)
that the hand of the Lord has done this?(CW)
10 In his hand is the life(CX) of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.(CY)
11 Does not the ear test words
as the tongue tastes food?(CZ)
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?(DA)
Does not long life bring understanding?(DB)
13 “To God belong wisdom(DC) and power;(DD)
counsel and understanding are his.(DE)
14 What he tears down(DF) cannot be rebuilt;(DG)
those he imprisons cannot be released.(DH)
15 If he holds back the waters,(DI) there is drought;(DJ)
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.(DK)
16 To him belong strength and insight;(DL)
both deceived and deceiver are his.(DM)
17 He leads rulers away stripped(DN)
and makes fools of judges.(DO)
18 He takes off the shackles(DP) put on by kings
and ties a loincloth[d] around their waist.(DQ)
19 He leads priests away stripped(DR)
and overthrows officials long established.(DS)
20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.(DT)
21 He pours contempt on nobles(DU)
and disarms the mighty.(DV)
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness(DW)
and brings utter darkness(DX) into the light.(DY)
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;(DZ)
he enlarges nations,(EA) and disperses them.(EB)
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;(EC)
he makes them wander in a trackless waste.(ED)
25 They grope in darkness with no light;(EE)
he makes them stagger like drunkards.(EF)
13 “My eyes have seen all this,(EG)
my ears have heard and understood it.
2 What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.(EH)
3 But I desire to speak to the Almighty(EI)
and to argue my case with God.(EJ)
4 You, however, smear me with lies;(EK)
you are worthless physicians,(EL) all of you!(EM)
5 If only you would be altogether silent!(EN)
For you, that would be wisdom.(EO)
6 Hear now my argument;
listen to the pleas of my lips.(EP)
7 Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf?
Will you speak deceitfully for him?(EQ)
8 Will you show him partiality?(ER)
Will you argue the case for God?
9 Would it turn out well if he examined you?(ES)
Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal?(ET)
10 He would surely call you to account
if you secretly showed partiality.(EU)
11 Would not his splendor(EV) terrify you?
Would not the dread of him fall on you?(EW)
12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
your defenses are defenses of clay.(EX)
13 “Keep silent(EY) and let me speak;(EZ)
then let come to me what may.(FA)
14 Why do I put myself in jeopardy
and take my life in my hands?(FB)
15 Though he slay me, yet will I hope(FC) in him;(FD)
I will surely[e] defend my ways to his face.(FE)
16 Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,(FF)
for no godless(FG) person would dare come before him!(FH)
17 Listen carefully to what I say;(FI)
let my words ring in your ears.
18 Now that I have prepared my case,(FJ)
I know I will be vindicated.(FK)
19 Can anyone bring charges against me?(FL)
If so, I will be silent(FM) and die.(FN)
20 “Only grant me these two things, God,
and then I will not hide from you:
21 Withdraw your hand(FO) far from me,
and stop frightening me with your terrors.(FP)
22 Then summon me and I will answer,(FQ)
or let me speak, and you reply to me.(FR)
23 How many wrongs and sins have I committed?(FS)
Show me my offense and my sin.(FT)
24 Why do you hide your face(FU)
and consider me your enemy?(FV)
25 Will you torment(FW) a windblown leaf?(FX)
Will you chase(FY) after dry chaff?(FZ)
26 For you write down bitter things against me
and make me reap the sins of my youth.(GA)
27 You fasten my feet in shackles;(GB)
you keep close watch on all my paths(GC)
by putting marks on the soles of my feet.
14 “Mortals, born of woman,(GF)
are of few days(GG) and full of trouble.(GH)
2 They spring up like flowers(GI) and wither away;(GJ)
like fleeting shadows,(GK) they do not endure.(GL)
3 Do you fix your eye on them?(GM)
Will you bring them[f] before you for judgment?(GN)
4 Who can bring what is pure(GO) from the impure?(GP)
No one!(GQ)
5 A person’s days are determined;(GR)
you have decreed the number of his months(GS)
and have set limits he cannot exceed.(GT)
6 So look away from him and let him alone,(GU)
till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.(GV)
7 “At least there is hope for a tree:(GW)
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shoots(GX) will not fail.(GY)
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stump(GZ) die in the soil,
9 yet at the scent of water(HA) it will bud
and put forth shoots like a plant.(HB)
10 But a man dies and is laid low;(HC)
he breathes his last and is no more.(HD)
11 As the water of a lake dries up
or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,(HE)
12 so he lies down and does not rise;(HF)
till the heavens are no more,(HG) people will not awake
or be roused from their sleep.(HH)
13 “If only you would hide me in the grave(HI)
and conceal me till your anger has passed!(HJ)
If only you would set me a time
and then remember(HK) me!(HL)
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
All the days of my hard service(HM)
I will wait for my renewal[g](HN) to come.
15 You will call and I will answer you;(HO)
you will long for the creature your hands have made.(HP)
16 Surely then you will count my steps(HQ)
but not keep track of my sin.(HR)
17 My offenses will be sealed(HS) up in a bag;(HT)
you will cover over my sin.(HU)
18 “But as a mountain erodes and crumbles(HV)
and as a rock is moved from its place,(HW)
19 as water wears away stones
and torrents(HX) wash away the soil,(HY)
so you destroy a person’s hope.(HZ)
20 You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;(IA)
you change their countenance and send them away.(IB)
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it;
if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.(IC)
22 They feel but the pain of their own bodies(ID)
and mourn only for themselves.(IE)”
Footnotes
- Job 10:15 Or and aware of
- Job 11:12 Or wild donkey can be born tame
- Job 12:6 Or those whose god is in their own hand
- Job 12:18 Or shackles of kings / and ties a belt
- Job 13:15 Or He will surely slay me; I have no hope — / yet I will
- Job 14:3 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew me
- Job 14:14 Or release
Job 10-14
King James Version
Job 10-14
King James Version
10 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
3 Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?
5 Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days,
6 That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?
7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.
8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?
10 Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?
11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.
12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.
13 And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.
14 If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;
16 For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.
17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.
18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!
19 I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
20 Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,
21 Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
22 A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
11 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?
11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?
12 For vain men would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.
13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
16 Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away:
17 And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday: thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
12 And Job answered and said,
2 No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
4 I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
5 He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.
6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
11 Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?
12 With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
13 With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.
18 He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
19 He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.
20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
22 He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
23 He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
24 He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25 They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
13 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it.
2 What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.
3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.
4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.
5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.
6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.
7 Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him?
8 Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God?
9 Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him?
10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons.
11 Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you?
12 Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.
13 Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will.
14 Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand?
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
16 He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.
17 Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears.
18 Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified.
19 Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.
20 Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.
21 Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.
22 Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me.
23 How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.
24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?
26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.
27 Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.
28 And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.
14 Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.
2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
3 And doth thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6 Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.
7 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
9 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
11 As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
16 For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.
18 And surely the mountains falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.
19 The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.
20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
21 His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
22 But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
New International Version (NIV) 
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