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Job 15-21
New Living Translation
Job 15-21
New Living Translation
Eliphaz’s Second Response to Job
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk!
You are nothing but a windbag.
3 The wise don’t engage in empty chatter.
What good are such words?
4 Have you no fear of God,
no reverence for him?
5 Your sins are telling your mouth what to say.
Your words are based on clever deception.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I.
Your own lips testify against you.
7 “Were you the first person ever born?
Were you born before the hills were made?
8 Were you listening at God’s secret council?
Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
9 What do you know that we don’t?
What do you understand that we do not?
10 On our side are aged, gray-haired men
much older than your father!
11 “Is God’s comfort too little for you?
Is his gentle word not enough?
12 What has taken away your reason?
What has weakened your vision,[a]
13 that you turn against God
and say all these evil things?
14 Can any mortal be pure?
Can anyone born of a woman be just?
15 Look, God does not even trust the angels.[b]
Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.
16 How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person
with a thirst for wickedness!
17 “If you will listen, I will show you.
I will answer you from my own experience.
18 And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men
who have heard the same thing from their fathers—
19 from those to whom the land was given
long before any foreigners arrived.
20 “The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives.
Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.
21 The sound of terror rings in their ears,
and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.
22 They dare not go out into the darkness
for fear they will be murdered.
23 They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’[c]
They know their day of destruction is near.
24 That dark day terrifies them.
They live in distress and anguish,
like a king preparing for battle.
25 For they shake their fists at God,
defying the Almighty.
26 Holding their strong shields,
they defiantly charge against him.
27 “These wicked people are heavy and prosperous;
their waists bulge with fat.
28 But their cities will be ruined.
They will live in abandoned houses
that are ready to tumble down.
29 Their riches will not last,
and their wealth will not endure.
Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.
30 “They will not escape the darkness.
The burning sun will wither their shoots,
and the breath of God will destroy them.
31 Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches,
for emptiness will be their only reward.
32 They will be cut down in the prime of life;
their branches will never again be green.
33 They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early,
like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.
34 For the godless are barren.
Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.
35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
Their womb produces deceit.”
Job’s Fifth Speech: A Response to Eliphaz
16 Then Job spoke again:
2 “I have heard all this before.
What miserable comforters you are!
3 Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air?
What makes you keep on talking?
4 I could say the same things if you were in my place.
I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.
5 But if it were me, I would encourage you.
I would try to take away your grief.
6 Instead, I suffer if I defend myself,
and I suffer no less if I refuse to speak.
7 “O God, you have ground me down
and devastated my family.
8 As if to prove I have sinned, you’ve reduced me to skin and bones.
My gaunt flesh testifies against me.
9 God hates me and angrily tears me apart.
He snaps his teeth at me
and pierces me with his eyes.
10 People jeer and laugh at me.
They slap my cheek in contempt.
A mob gathers against me.
11 God has handed me over to sinners.
He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked.
12 “I was living quietly until he shattered me.
He took me by the neck and broke me in pieces.
Then he set me up as his target,
13 and now his archers surround me.
His arrows pierce me without mercy.
The ground is wet with my blood.[d]
14 Again and again he smashes against me,
charging at me like a warrior.
15 I wear burlap to show my grief.
My pride lies in the dust.
16 My eyes are red with weeping;
dark shadows circle my eyes.
17 Yet I have done no wrong,
and my prayer is pure.
18 “O earth, do not conceal my blood.
Let it cry out on my behalf.
19 Even now my witness is in heaven.
My advocate is there on high.
20 My friends scorn me,
but I pour out my tears to God.
21 I need someone to mediate between God and me,
as a person mediates between friends.
22 For soon I must go down that road
from which I will never return.
Job Continues to Defend His Innocence
17 “My spirit is crushed,
and my life is nearly snuffed out.
The grave is ready to receive me.
2 I am surrounded by mockers.
I watch how bitterly they taunt me.
3 “You must defend my innocence, O God,
since no one else will stand up for me.
4 You have closed their minds to understanding,
but do not let them triumph.
5 They betray their friends for their own advantage,
so let their children faint with hunger.
6 “God has made a mockery of me among the people;
they spit in my face.
7 My eyes are swollen with weeping,
and I am but a shadow of my former self.
8 The virtuous are horrified when they see me.
The innocent rise up against the ungodly.
9 The righteous keep moving forward,
and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.
10 “As for all of you, come back with a better argument,
though I still won’t find a wise man among you.
11 My days are over.
My hopes have disappeared.
My heart’s desires are broken.
12 These men say that night is day;
they claim that the darkness is light.
13 What if I go to the grave[e]
and make my bed in darkness?
14 What if I call the grave my father,
and the maggot my mother or my sister?
15 Where then is my hope?
Can anyone find it?
16 No, my hope will go down with me to the grave.
We will rest together in the dust!”
Bildad’s Second Response to Job
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2 “How long before you stop talking?
Speak sense if you want us to answer!
3 Do you think we are mere animals?
Do you think we are stupid?
4 You may tear out your hair in anger,
but will that destroy the earth?
Will it make the rocks tremble?
5 “Surely the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.
The sparks of their fire will not glow.
6 The light in their tent will grow dark.
The lamp hanging above them will be quenched.
7 The confident stride of the wicked will be shortened.
Their own schemes will be their downfall.
8 The wicked walk into a net.
They fall into a pit.
9 A trap grabs them by the heel.
A snare holds them tight.
10 A noose lies hidden on the ground.
A rope is stretched across their path.
11 “Terrors surround the wicked
and trouble them at every step.
12 Hunger depletes their strength,
and calamity waits for them to stumble.
13 Disease eats their skin;
death devours their limbs.
14 They are torn from the security of their homes
and are brought down to the king of terrors.
15 The homes of the wicked will burn down;
burning sulfur rains on their houses.
16 Their roots will dry up,
and their branches will wither.
17 All memory of their existence will fade from the earth;
no one will remember their names.
18 They will be thrust from light into darkness,
driven from the world.
19 They will have neither children nor grandchildren,
nor any survivor in the place where they lived.
20 People in the west are appalled at their fate;
people in the east are horrified.
21 They will say, ‘This was the home of a wicked person,
the place of one who rejected God.’”
Job’s Sixth Speech: A Response to Bildad
19 Then Job spoke again:
2 “How long will you torture me?
How long will you try to crush me with your words?
3 You have already insulted me ten times.
You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.
4 Even if I have sinned,
that is my concern, not yours.
5 You think you’re better than I am,
using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.
6 But it is God who has wronged me,
capturing me in his net.[f]
7 “I cry out, ‘Help!’ but no one answers me.
I protest, but there is no justice.
8 God has blocked my way so I cannot move.
He has plunged my path into darkness.
9 He has stripped me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He has demolished me on every side, and I am finished.
He has uprooted my hope like a fallen tree.
11 His fury burns against me;
he counts me as an enemy.
12 His troops advance.
They build up roads to attack me.
They camp all around my tent.
13 “My relatives stay far away,
and my friends have turned against me.
14 My family is gone,
and my close friends have forgotten me.
15 My servants and maids consider me a stranger.
I am like a foreigner to them.
16 When I call my servant, he doesn’t come;
I have to plead with him!
17 My breath is repulsive to my wife.
I am rejected by my own family.
18 Even young children despise me.
When I stand to speak, they turn their backs on me.
19 My close friends detest me.
Those I loved have turned against me.
20 I have been reduced to skin and bones
and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.
21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
Haven’t you chewed me up enough?
23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
engraved forever in the rock.
25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
yet in my body I will see God![g]
27 I will see him for myself.
Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
I am overwhelmed at the thought!
28 “How dare you go on persecuting me,
saying, ‘It’s his own fault’?
29 You should fear punishment yourselves,
for your attitude deserves punishment.
Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”
Zophar’s Second Response to Job
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 “I must reply
because I am greatly disturbed.
3 I’ve had to endure your insults,
but now my spirit prompts me to reply.
4 “Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time,
ever since people were first placed on the earth,
5 the triumph of the wicked has been short lived
and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?
6 Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens
and their heads touch the clouds,
7 yet they will vanish forever,
thrown away like their own dung.
Those who knew them will ask,
‘Where are they?’
8 They will fade like a dream and not be found.
They will vanish like a vision in the night.
9 Those who once saw them will see them no more.
Their families will never see them again.
10 Their children will beg from the poor,
for they must give back their stolen riches.
11 Though they are young,
their bones will lie in the dust.
12 “They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness,
letting it melt under their tongue.
13 They savored it,
holding it long in their mouths.
14 But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour,
a poisonous venom in their stomach.
15 They will vomit the wealth they swallowed.
God won’t let them keep it down.
16 They will suck the poison of cobras.
The viper will kill them.
17 They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil
or rivers of milk and honey.
18 They will give back everything they worked for.
Their wealth will bring them no joy.
19 For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute.
They foreclosed on their homes.
20 They were always greedy and never satisfied.
Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.
21 Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves.
Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.
22 “In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble
and be overcome by misery.
23 May God give them a bellyful of trouble.
May God rain down his anger upon them.
24 When they try to escape an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.
25 The arrow is pulled from their back,
and the arrowhead glistens with blood.[h]
The terrors of death are upon them.
26 Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness.
A wildfire will devour their goods,
consuming all they have left.
27 The heavens will reveal their guilt,
and the earth will testify against them.
28 A flood will sweep away their house.
God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.
29 This is the reward that God gives the wicked.
It is the inheritance decreed by God.”
Job’s Seventh Speech: A Response to Zophar
21 Then Job spoke again:
2 “Listen closely to what I am saying.
That’s one consolation you can give me.
3 Bear with me, and let me speak.
After I have spoken, you may resume mocking me.
4 “My complaint is with God, not with people.
I have good reason to be so impatient.
5 Look at me and be stunned.
Put your hand over your mouth in shock.
6 When I think about what I am saying, I shudder.
My body trembles.
7 “Why do the wicked prosper,
growing old and powerful?
8 They live to see their children grow up and settle down,
and they enjoy their grandchildren.
9 Their homes are safe from every fear,
and God does not punish them.
10 Their bulls never fail to breed.
Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.
11 They let their children frisk about like lambs.
Their little ones skip and dance.
12 They sing with tambourine and harp.
They celebrate to the sound of the flute.
13 They spend their days in prosperity,
then go down to the grave[i] in peace.
14 And yet they say to God, ‘Go away.
We want no part of you and your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him?
What good will it do us to pray?’
16 (They think their prosperity is of their own doing,
but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.)
17 “Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished.
Do they ever have trouble?
Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?
18 Are they driven before the wind like straw?
Are they carried away by the storm like chaff?
Not at all!
19 “‘Well,’ you say, ‘at least God will punish their children!’
But I say he should punish the ones who sin,
so that they understand his judgment.
20 Let them see their destruction with their own eyes.
Let them drink deeply of the anger of the Almighty.
21 For they will not care what happens to their family
after they are dead.
22 “But who can teach a lesson to God,
since he judges even the most powerful?
23 One person dies in prosperity,
completely comfortable and secure,
24 the picture of good health,
vigorous and fit.
25 Another person dies in bitter poverty,
never having tasted the good life.
26 But both are buried in the same dust,
both eaten by the same maggots.
27 “Look, I know what you’re thinking.
I know the schemes you plot against me.
28 You will tell me of rich and wicked people
whose houses have vanished because of their sins.
29 But ask those who have been around,
and they will tell you the truth.
30 Evil people are spared in times of calamity
and are allowed to escape disaster.
31 No one criticizes them openly
or pays them back for what they have done.
32 When they are carried to the grave,
an honor guard keeps watch at their tomb.
33 A great funeral procession goes to the cemetery.
Many pay their respects as the body is laid to rest,
and the earth gives sweet repose.
34 “How can your empty clichés comfort me?
All your explanations are lies!”
Footnotes
- 15:12 Or Why do your eyes flash with anger; Hebrew reads Why do your eyes blink.
- 15:15 Hebrew the holy ones.
- 15:23 Greek version reads He is appointed to be food for a vulture.
- 16:13 Hebrew my gall.
- 17:13 Hebrew to Sheol; also in 17:16.
- 19:6 Or for I am like a city under siege.
- 19:26 Or without my body I will see God. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 20:25 Hebrew with gall.
- 21:13 Hebrew to Sheol.
Job 15-21
New International Version
Job 15-21
New International Version
Eliphaz
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(A) replied:
2 “Would a wise person answer with empty notions
or fill their belly with the hot east wind?(B)
3 Would they argue with useless words,
with speeches that have no value?(C)
4 But you even undermine piety
and hinder devotion to God.(D)
5 Your sin(E) prompts your mouth;(F)
you adopt the tongue of the crafty.(G)
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
your own lips testify against you.(H)
7 “Are you the first man ever born?(I)
Were you brought forth before the hills?(J)
8 Do you listen in on God’s council?(K)
Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?(L)
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have?(M)
10 The gray-haired and the aged(N) are on our side,
men even older than your father.(O)
11 Are God’s consolations(P) not enough for you,
words(Q) spoken gently to you?(R)
12 Why has your heart(S) carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash,
13 so that you vent your rage(T) against God
and pour out such words(U) from your mouth?(V)
14 “What are mortals, that they could be pure,
or those born of woman,(W) that they could be righteous?(X)
15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,(Y)
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,(Z)
16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,(AA)
who drink up evil(AB) like water!(AC)
17 “Listen to me and I will explain to you;
let me tell you what I have seen,(AD)
18 what the wise have declared,
hiding nothing received from their ancestors(AE)
19 (to whom alone the land(AF) was given
when no foreigners moved among them):
20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,(AG)
the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.(AH)
21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;(AI)
when all seems well, marauders attack him.(AJ)
22 He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;(AK)
he is marked for the sword.(AL)
23 He wanders about(AM) for food like a vulture;(AN)
he knows the day of darkness(AO) is at hand.(AP)
24 Distress and anguish(AQ) fill him with terror;(AR)
troubles overwhelm him, like a king(AS) poised to attack,
25 because he shakes his fist(AT) at God
and vaunts himself against the Almighty,(AU)
26 defiantly charging against him
with a thick, strong shield.(AV)
27 “Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh,(AW)
28 he will inhabit ruined towns
and houses where no one lives,(AX)
houses crumbling to rubble.(AY)
29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,(AZ)
nor will his possessions spread over the land.(BA)
30 He will not escape the darkness;(BB)
a flame(BC) will wither his shoots,(BD)
and the breath of God’s mouth(BE) will carry him away.(BF)
31 Let him not deceive(BG) himself by trusting what is worthless,(BH)
for he will get nothing in return.(BI)
32 Before his time(BJ) he will wither,(BK)
and his branches will not flourish.(BL)
33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,(BM)
like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.(BN)
34 For the company of the godless(BO) will be barren,
and fire will consume(BP) the tents of those who love bribes.(BQ)
35 They conceive trouble(BR) and give birth to evil;(BS)
their womb fashions deceit.”
Job
16 Then Job replied:
2 “I have heard many things like these;
you are miserable comforters,(BT) all of you!(BU)
3 Will your long-winded speeches never end?(BV)
What ails you that you keep on arguing?(BW)
4 I also could speak like you,
if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
and shake my head(BX) at you.
5 But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort(BY) from my lips would bring you relief.(BZ)
6 “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved;
and if I refrain, it does not go away.(CA)
7 Surely, God, you have worn me out;(CB)
you have devastated my entire household.(CC)
8 You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness;
my gauntness(CD) rises up and testifies against me.(CE)
9 God assails me and tears(CF) me in his anger(CG)
and gnashes his teeth at me;(CH)
my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.(CI)
10 People open their mouths(CJ) to jeer at me;(CK)
they strike my cheek(CL) in scorn
and unite together against me.(CM)
11 God has turned me over to the ungodly
and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.(CN)
12 All was well with me, but he shattered me;
he seized me by the neck and crushed me.(CO)
He has made me his target;(CP)
13 his archers surround me.(CQ)
Without pity, he pierces(CR) my kidneys
and spills my gall on the ground.
14 Again and again(CS) he bursts upon me;
he rushes at me like a warrior.(CT)
15 “I have sewed sackcloth(CU) over my skin
and buried my brow in the dust.(CV)
16 My face is red with weeping,(CW)
dark shadows ring my eyes;(CX)
17 yet my hands have been free of violence(CY)
and my prayer is pure.(CZ)
18 “Earth, do not cover my blood;(DA)
may my cry(DB) never be laid to rest!(DC)
19 Even now my witness(DD) is in heaven;(DE)
my advocate is on high.(DF)
20 My intercessor(DG) is my friend[a](DH)
as my eyes pour out(DI) tears(DJ) to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads(DK) with God
as one pleads for a friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass
before I take the path of no return.(DL)
17 1 My spirit(DM) is broken,
my days are cut short,(DN)
the grave awaits me.(DO)
2 Surely mockers(DP) surround me;(DQ)
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
3 “Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.(DR)
Who else will put up security(DS) for me?(DT)
4 You have closed their minds to understanding;(DU)
therefore you will not let them triumph.
5 If anyone denounces their friends for reward,(DV)
the eyes of their children will fail.(DW)
6 “God has made me a byword(DX) to everyone,(DY)
a man in whose face people spit.(DZ)
7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;(EA)
my whole frame is but a shadow.(EB)
8 The upright are appalled at this;
the innocent are aroused(EC) against the ungodly.
9 Nevertheless, the righteous(ED) will hold to their ways,
and those with clean hands(EE) will grow stronger.(EF)
10 “But come on, all of you, try again!
I will not find a wise man among you.(EG)
11 My days have passed,(EH) my plans are shattered.
Yet the desires of my heart(EI)
12 turn night into day;(EJ)
in the face of the darkness light is near.(EK)
13 If the only home I hope for is the grave,(EL)
if I spread out my bed(EM) in the realm of darkness,(EN)
14 if I say to corruption,(EO) ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm,(EP) ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’
15 where then is my hope—(EQ)
who can see any hope for me?(ER)
16 Will it go down to the gates of death?(ES)
Will we descend together into the dust?”(ET)
Bildad
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite(EU) replied:
2 “When will you end these speeches?(EV)
Be sensible, and then we can talk.
3 Why are we regarded as cattle(EW)
and considered stupid in your sight?(EX)
4 You who tear yourself(EY) to pieces in your anger,(EZ)
is the earth to be abandoned for your sake?
Or must the rocks be moved from their place?(FA)
5 “The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out;(FB)
the flame of his fire stops burning.(FC)
6 The light in his tent(FD) becomes dark;(FE)
the lamp beside him goes out.(FF)
7 The vigor(FG) of his step is weakened;(FH)
his own schemes(FI) throw him down.(FJ)
8 His feet thrust him into a net;(FK)
he wanders into its mesh.
9 A trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare(FL) holds him fast.(FM)
10 A noose(FN) is hidden for him on the ground;
a trap(FO) lies in his path.(FP)
11 Terrors(FQ) startle him on every side(FR)
and dog(FS) his every step.
12 Calamity(FT) is hungry(FU) for him;
disaster(FV) is ready for him when he falls.(FW)
13 It eats away parts of his skin;(FX)
death’s firstborn devours his limbs.(FY)
14 He is torn from the security of his tent(FZ)
and marched off to the king(GA) of terrors.(GB)
15 Fire resides[b] in his tent;(GC)
burning sulfur(GD) is scattered over his dwelling.
16 His roots dry up below(GE)
and his branches wither above.(GF)
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth;(GG)
he has no name(GH) in the land.(GI)
18 He is driven from light into the realm of darkness(GJ)
and is banished(GK) from the world.(GL)
19 He has no offspring(GM) or descendants(GN) among his people,
no survivor(GO) where once he lived.(GP)
20 People of the west are appalled(GQ) at his fate;(GR)
those of the east are seized with horror.
21 Surely such is the dwelling(GS) of an evil man;(GT)
such is the place(GU) of one who does not know God.”(GV)
Job
19 Then Job replied:
2 “How long will you torment(GW) me
and crush(GX) me with words?
3 Ten times(GY) now you have reproached(GZ) me;
shamelessly you attack me.
4 If it is true that I have gone astray,
my error(HA) remains my concern alone.
5 If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me(HB)
and use my humiliation against me,
6 then know that God has wronged me(HC)
and drawn his net(HD) around me.(HE)
7 “Though I cry, ‘Violence!’ I get no response;(HF)
though I call for help,(HG) there is no justice.(HH)
8 He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;(HI)
he has shrouded my paths in darkness.(HJ)
9 He has stripped(HK) me of my honor(HL)
and removed the crown from my head.(HM)
10 He tears me down(HN) on every side till I am gone;
he uproots my hope(HO) like a tree.(HP)
11 His anger(HQ) burns against me;
he counts me among his enemies.(HR)
12 His troops advance in force;(HS)
they build a siege ramp(HT) against me
and encamp around my tent.(HU)
13 “He has alienated my family(HV) from me;
my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.(HW)
14 My relatives have gone away;
my closest friends(HX) have forgotten me.
15 My guests(HY) and my female servants(HZ) count me a foreigner;
they look on me as on a stranger.
16 I summon my servant, but he does not answer,
though I beg him with my own mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife;
I am loathsome(IA) to my own family.
18 Even the little boys(IB) scorn me;
when I appear, they ridicule me.(IC)
19 All my intimate friends(ID) detest me;(IE)
those I love have turned against me.(IF)
20 I am nothing but skin and bones;(IG)
I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.[c]
21 “Have pity on me, my friends,(IH) have pity,
for the hand of God has struck(II) me.
22 Why do you pursue(IJ) me as God does?(IK)
Will you never get enough of my flesh?(IL)
23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,(IM)
24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool(IN) on[d] lead,
or engraved in rock forever!(IO)
25 I know that my redeemer[e](IP) lives,(IQ)
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.[f]
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet[g] in[h] my flesh I will see God;(IR)
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes(IS)—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns(IT) within me!
28 “If you say, ‘How we will hound(IU) him,
since the root of the trouble lies in him,[i]’
29 you should fear the sword yourselves;
for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,(IV)
and then you will know that there is judgment.[j]”(IW)
Zophar
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite(IX) replied:
2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.(IY)
3 I hear a rebuke(IZ) that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.
4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old,(JA)
ever since mankind[k] was placed on the earth,
5 that the mirth of the wicked(JB) is brief,
the joy of the godless(JC) lasts but a moment.(JD)
6 Though the pride(JE) of the godless person reaches to the heavens(JF)
and his head touches the clouds,(JG)
7 he will perish forever,(JH) like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’(JI)
8 Like a dream(JJ) he flies away,(JK) no more to be found,
banished(JL) like a vision of the night.(JM)
9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.(JN)
10 His children(JO) must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.(JP)
11 The youthful vigor(JQ) that fills his bones(JR)
will lie with him in the dust.(JS)
12 “Though evil(JT) is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,(JU)
13 though he cannot bear to let it go
and lets it linger in his mouth,(JV)
14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;(JW)
it will become the venom of serpents(JX) within him.
15 He will spit out the riches(JY) he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit(JZ) them up.
16 He will suck the poison(KA) of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.(KB)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers(KC) flowing with honey(KD) and cream.(KE)
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;(KF)
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.(KG)
19 For he has oppressed the poor(KH) and left them destitute;(KI)
he has seized houses(KJ) he did not build.
20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;(KK)
he cannot save himself by his treasure.(KL)
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.(KM)
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;(KN)
the full force of misery will come upon him.(KO)
23 When he has filled his belly,(KP)
God will vent his burning anger(KQ) against him
and rain down his blows on him.(KR)
24 Though he flees(KS) from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.(KT)
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors(KU) will come over him;(KV)
26 total darkness(KW) lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire(KX) unfanned will consume him(KY)
and devour what is left in his tent.(KZ)
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.(LA)
28 A flood will carry off his house,(LB)
rushing waters[l] on the day of God’s wrath.(LC)
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.”(LD)
Job
21 Then Job replied:
2 “Listen carefully to my words;(LE)
let this be the consolation you give me.(LF)
3 Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.(LG)
4 “Is my complaint(LH) directed to a human being?
Why should I not be impatient?(LI)
5 Look at me and be appalled;
clap your hand over your mouth.(LJ)
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;(LK)
trembling seizes my body.(LL)
7 Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?(LM)
8 They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.(LN)
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;(LO)
the rod of God is not on them.(LP)
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.(LQ)
11 They send forth their children as a flock;(LR)
their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;(LS)
they make merry to the sound of the pipe.(LT)
13 They spend their years in prosperity(LU)
and go down to the grave(LV) in peace.[m](LW)
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!(LX)
We have no desire to know your ways.(LY)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’(LZ)
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(MA)
17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?(MB)
How often does calamity(MC) come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?(MD)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff(ME) swept away(MF) by a gale?(MG)
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’(MH)
Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!(MI)
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;(MJ)
let them drink(MK) the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.(ML)
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind(MM)
when their allotted months(MN) come to an end?(MO)
22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,(MP)
since he judges even the highest?(MQ)
23 One person dies in full vigor,(MR)
completely secure and at ease,(MS)
24 well nourished(MT) in body,[n]
bones(MU) rich with marrow.(MV)
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,(MW)
never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,(MX)
and worms(MY) cover them both.(MZ)
27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,(NA)
the tents where the wicked lived?’(NB)
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,(NC)
that they are delivered from[o] the day of wrath?(ND)
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
Who repays them for what they have done?(NE)
32 They are carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over their tombs.(NF)
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;(NG)
everyone follows after them,
and a countless throng goes[p] before them.(NH)
Footnotes
- Job 16:20 Or My friends treat me with scorn
- Job 18:15 Or Nothing he had remains
- Job 19:20 Or only by my gums
- Job 19:24 Or and
- Job 19:25 Or vindicator
- Job 19:25 Or on my grave
- Job 19:26 Or And after I awake, / though this body has been destroyed, / then
- Job 19:26 Or destroyed, / apart from
- Job 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts me
- Job 19:29 Or sword, / that you may come to know the Almighty
- Job 20:4 Or Adam
- Job 20:28 Or The possessions in his house will be carried off, / washed away
- Job 21:13 Or in an instant
- Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
- Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.