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Job 15-16
Common English Bible
Job 15-16
Common English Bible
Job’s intelligence questioned
15 Eliphaz answered:
2 Will the wise respond with windy knowledge
and fill their belly with the east wind?
3 Will they argue with a word that has no benefit
and with unprofitable words?
4 You are truly making religion ineffective
and restraining meditation before God.
5 Your mouth multiplies your sins a thousand times;
you opt for a clever tongue.
6 Your mouth condemns you, not I;
your lips argue against you.
7 Were you born the first Adam,
brought forth before the hills?
8 Did you listen in God’s council;
is wisdom limited to you?
9 What do you know that we don’t know;
what do you understand that isn’t among us?
10 Both the graybeard and the aged are with us;
those much older than your father.
11 Are God’s comforts not enough for you,
a word spoken gently with you?
12 Why has your mind seized you,
why have your eyes flashed,
13 so that you return your breath to God
and utter such words from your mouth?
14 What are humans that they might be pure,
and those born of woman that they might be innocent?
15 If he doesn’t trust his holy ones
and the heavens aren’t pure in his eyes,
16 how much less those who are abominable and corrupt,
for they drink sin like water.
The wicked’s downfall
17 Listen to me; I will argue with you;
what I’ve seen, I will declare to you;
18 what the wise have told and have not concealed from their family,
19 to whom alone the earth was given
and no stranger passed in their midst.
20 All the days of the wicked are painful;
the number of years reserved for the hateful;
21 a sound of terror pierces[a] their ears;
when safe, raiders overtake them.
22 They can’t count on turning away from darkness;
they are destined for a sword.
23 They wander about for bread. “Where is it?”
They know that their day of darkness is fixed.
24 Adversity and stress scare them,
master them like a king ready to strike;
25 for they raise a fist against God
and try to overpower the Almighty.
26 They run toward him aggressively,
with a massive and strong shield.
27 They cover their face with grease
and make their loins gross.
28 They lived in ruined cities,
unoccupied houses that turn to rubble.
29 They won’t get rich; their wealth won’t last;
their property won’t extend over the earth.
30 They can’t turn away from darkness;
a flame will dry out their shoots,
and they will be taken away by the wind from his mouth.
31 They shouldn’t trust in what has no worth,
for their reward will be worthless.
32 Before their branch is formed,
before it is green,
33 like the vine, they will drop early grapes
and cast off their blossoms like the olive.
34 The ruthless gang is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of bribers.
35 They conceive toil and give birth to sorrow;
their belly establishes deceit.
Job’s response
16 Then Job answered:
2 I’ve heard many things like these.
All of you are sorry comforters.
3 Will windy talk ever cease;
what bothers you that you must argue?
4 In your situation I could speak like you;
I could put words together to oppose you,
shake my head over you.
5 I could heap up words, strengthen you with my speech;
my trembling lips would be held in check.
6 If I speak, my pain is not eased;
if I hold back, what have I lost?
The innocent are God’s targets
7 Now God has surely worn me out.
You have destroyed my entire group,
8 seized me, which became grounds for an accusation.[b]
My leanness rises to bear witness against me.
9 His anger tears me and afflicts me;
he slashes at me with his teeth.
My enemy pierces me with his eyes.
10 They open their mouths at me
and strike my cheek in a taunt;
they gang up on me.
11 God delivers me to a criminal
and forces me into the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at rest, but he shattered me,
seized me by the back of my neck,
dashed me into pieces;
he raised me up for his target.
13 His archers surround me;
he cuts my kidneys open without pity and doesn’t care,
pours my gall on the ground,
14 bursts me open over and over,
runs against me like a strong man.
15 I’ve sewed rough cloth over my skin
and buried my dignity in the dust.
16 My face is red from crying,
and dark gloom hangs on my eyelids.
17 But there is no violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.
Lingering hope
18 Earth, don’t cover my blood;
let my outcry never cease.
19 Surely now my witness stands in heaven;
my advocate is on high;
20 my go-between, my friend.[c]
While my eyes drip tears to God,
21 let him plead with God for a human being,
like a person pleads for a friend.
22 A number of years will surely pass,
and then I’ll walk a path that I won’t return.
Job 15-16
New International Version
Job 15-16
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)
Footnotes
- Job 16:20 Or My friends treat me with scorn
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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.