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Job 24-28
Easy-to-Read Version
Job 24-28
Easy-to-Read Version
24 “Why doesn’t God All-Powerful set times for judgment?
And why can’t his followers know when those times will be?
2 “People move property markers to get more of their neighbor’s land.
People steal flocks and lead them to other grasslands.
3 They steal a donkey that belongs to an orphan.
They take a widow’s cow until she pays what she owes them.
9 [a] They take a nursing baby from its mother.
They take a poor person’s child to guarantee a loan.
4 They force the poor to move out of their way
and to get off the road.
5 “The poor are like wild donkeys that go out to the desert to find food.
From morning to night they work to gather food for their children.
6 They have to work in the fields, harvesting grain.
They work for the rich,[b] gathering grapes in their vineyards.
7 They must sleep all night without clothes.
They have no covers to protect them from the cold.
8 They are soaked with rain in the mountains.
They stay close to the large rocks for shelter.
10 They have no clothes, so they work naked.
They carry piles of grain for others, but they go hungry.
11 They press out olive oil
and walk on grapes in the winepress, but they have nothing to drink.
12 In the city you can hear the sad sounds of dying people.
Those who are hurt cry out for help, but God does not listen.
13 “Some people rebel against the light.
They don’t know what God wants.
They don’t live the way he wants.
14 A murderer gets up at dawn and kills poor, helpless people.
And at night he becomes a thief.
15 A man who commits adultery waits for the night to come.
He thinks, ‘No one will see me,’ but still, he covers his face.
16 When it is dark, evil people go out and break into houses.
But during the day they lock themselves in their homes to avoid the light.
17 The darkest night is their morning.
They are friends with the terrors of darkness.
18 “You say, ‘Evil people are taken away like things carried away in a flood.
The land they own is cursed, so no one goes to work in their vineyards.
19 As hot, dry weather melts away the winter snows,
so the grave takes away those who have sinned.
20 Their own mothers will forget them.
Only the worms will want them.
No one will remember them.
They will be broken like a rotten stick!
21 These evil people hurt women who have no children to protect them,
and they refuse to help widows.
22 By his power God removes the powerful.
Even if they have a high position, they cannot be sure of their lives.
23 They might feel safe and secure,
but God is watching how they live.
24 They might be successful for a while, but then they will be gone.
Like everyone else, they will be cut down like grain.’
25 “I swear these things are true!
Who can prove that I lied?
Who can show that I am wrong?”
Bildad Answers Job
25 Then Bildad from Shuah answered:
2 “God is the ruler.
He makes people fear and respect him.
He keeps peace in his kingdom above.
3 No one can count his stars.[c]
His sun rises on all people.
4 How can anyone claim to be right before God?
No human being[d] can really be pure.
5 In God’s eyes even the moon is not pure and bright;
even the stars are not pure.
6 People are much less pure.
They are like maggots, as worthless as worms!”
Job Answers Bildad
26 Then Job answered:
2 “Bildad, what a great help you are to this tired, weary man!
You have really supported me!
3 You have given such wonderful advice to this foolish man!
You have provided so much useful information![e]
4 Who helped you say these things?
Whose spirit inspired you to speak?
5 “The ghosts and their neighbors
in the underworld[f] shake with fear.
6 But God can see clearly into that place of death.
Death[g] is not hidden from God.
7 God stretched the northern sky over empty space.
He hung the earth on nothing.
8 He fills the thick clouds with water.
But he does not let its heavy weight break the clouds open.
9 He covers the face of the full moon.
He spreads his clouds over it and hides it.
10 He drew the horizon on the ocean,
like a circle where light and darkness meet.
11 The foundations that hold up the sky
shake with fear when God threatens them.
12 With his own power God calmed the sea.
With his wisdom he destroyed Rahab.
13 His breath made the skies clear.
His hand destroyed the snake that tried to get away.[h]
14 These are only a few of the amazing things God has done.
We hear only a small whisper of God’s thundering power.”
27 Job continued his answer:
2 “God All-Powerful has been unfair to me;
he has made my life bitter.
But I swear by his life,
3 as long as I have life in me,
as long as breath from God is in my nostrils,
4 I will not be a hypocrite.
I will not lie.
5 You will never hear me say you men are right!
Until the day I die I will not be untrue to myself.
6 I will hold on to my innocence and never let go!
My conscience will always be clear!
7 May my enemies be punished like those who are evil.
May those who stood against me end up like all who have done wrong.
8 What hope do people without God have when it is time to die,
when God takes their life away?
9 When they have troubles and cry out for help,
God will not listen to them!
10 It will be too late for them to enjoy talking with God All-Powerful.
They should have prayed to God all the time.
11 “I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not hide anything about God All-Powerful.
12 But you have seen it all with your own eyes.
So why do you say such useless things?
13 [i] “Here is what God has planned for those who are evil.
This is what cruel people will get from God All-Powerful.
14 They may have many children, but all of them will be killed in war.
Or their children will not have enough to eat.
15 All those who are left will die,
and the widows will not even cry for them.
16 Evil people collect silver as easily as dirt.
They may have so many clothes that they are piled up like clay.
17 But their piles of clothes will be worn by those who have lived right.
All that silver will be given to those who have done no wrong.
18 Evil people might build houses, but they will not last long.
They will be like a spider’s web or a guard’s tent.
19 They might be rich when they go to bed,
but when they open their eyes, all their riches will be gone.
20 Terrible fears will come over them like a flood,
like a storm in the night that blows everything away.
21 The east wind will carry them away, and they will be gone.
The storm will sweep them out of their homes.
22 They may try to run away from the power of the storm,
but it will come down on them without mercy.
23 It will make a sound like clapping hands as they run away.
It will whistle at them as they run from their homes.”
The Value of Wisdom
28 “There are mines where people get silver
and places where people melt gold to make it pure.
2 Iron is dug out of the ground,
and copper is melted out of the rocks.
3 Miners carry lights deep into caves
to search for these rocks in the deepest darkness.
4 Far from where people live, they dig deep into the ground,
down where no one else has been before.
There they work all alone, hanging from ropes.
5 Food grows on the ground above.
But underground it is different,
as if everything were melted by fire.
6 In the rocks there are sapphires
and grains of pure gold.
7 Wild birds know nothing about the way to these places.
No falcon[j] has ever seen it.
8 Wild animals have never been there.
Lions have not traveled that way.
9 Miners dig the hardest rocks.
They dig away at the mountains and make them bare.
10 They cut tunnels through the rocks
and see all the treasures they hold.
11 They even find places where rivers begin.
They bring to light what once was hidden.
12 “But where can anyone find wisdom?
Where can we get understanding?
13 People don’t know where wisdom is.
It cannot be found by anyone on earth.
14 The deep ocean says, ‘It’s not here with me.’
The sea says, ‘It’s not here with me.’
15 You cannot buy wisdom with even the purest gold.
There’s not enough silver in the world to pay for it.
16 You cannot buy it with gold from Ophir
or with precious onyx or sapphires.
17 Wisdom is worth more than gold or crystal.
It cannot be bought with expensive jewels set in gold.
18 It is far more valuable than coral and jasper,
more precious than rubies.
19 The topaz from Ethiopia cannot match its value,
which is greater than the purest gold.
20 “So where does wisdom come from?
Where can we find understanding?
21 Wisdom is hidden from every living thing on earth.
Even birds in the sky cannot see it.
22 Death and destruction[k] say,
‘We have never seen wisdom;
we have only heard rumors about it.’
23 “Only God knows the way to wisdom.
Only he knows where wisdom is.
24 He can see to the very ends of the earth.
He sees everything under the sky.
25 God gave the wind its power.
He decided how big to make the oceans.
26 He decided where to send the rain
and where the thunderstorms should go.
27 He looked at wisdom and discussed it.
He examined it and saw how much it is worth.
28 Then he said to humans,
‘To fear and respect the Lord is wisdom.
To turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Footnotes
- Job 24:9 In the Hebrew text this verse follows verse 8.
- Job 24:6 the rich Or “the wicked.”
- Job 25:3 his stars Or “his troops.” This means God’s heavenly army. It could be all the angels or all the stars in the sky.
- Job 25:4 No human being Literally, “No one born from woman.”
- Job 26:3 Job is being sarcastic here—showing by the way he speaks that he does not really mean it.
- Job 26:5 The ghosts … underworld Literally, “The ghosts under the water.” This refers to Sheol, the place of death.
- Job 26:6 Death Or “Abaddon,” a Hebrew name meaning “death” or “destruction.” See Rev. 9:11.
- Job 26:13 snake … get away Or “the escaping monster.” This might be another name for Rahab. See Isa. 27:1.
- Job 27:13 Though Zophar is not mentioned in the text, many scholars think he answers Job in verses 13-23.
- Job 28:7 falcon A kind of bird, like a hawk.
- Job 28:22 Death and destruction Or “Abaddon,” a Hebrew name meaning “death” or “destruction.” See Rev. 9:11.
Job 24-28
New International Version
Job 24-28
New International Version
24 “Why does the Almighty not set times(A) for judgment?(B)
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?(C)
2 There are those who move boundary stones;(D)
they pasture flocks they have stolen.(E)
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge.(F)
4 They thrust the needy(G) from the path
and force all the poor(H) of the land into hiding.(I)
5 Like wild donkeys(J) in the desert,
the poor go about their labor(K) of foraging food;
the wasteland(L) provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodder(M) in the fields
and glean in the vineyards(N) of the wicked.(O)
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.(P)
8 They are drenched(Q) by mountain rains
and hug(R) the rocks for lack of shelter.(S)
9 The fatherless(T) child is snatched(U) from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized(V) for a debt.(W)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;(X)
they carry the sheaves,(Y) but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[a];
they tread the winepresses,(Z) yet suffer thirst.(AA)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.(AB)
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.(AC)
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,(AD)
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.(AE)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills(AF) the poor and needy,(AG)
and in the night steals forth like a thief.(AH)
15 The eye of the adulterer(AI) watches for dusk;(AJ)
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’(AK)
and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,(AL)
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.(AM)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors(AN) of darkness.(AO)
18 “Yet they are foam(AP) on the surface of the water;(AQ)
their portion of the land is cursed,(AR)
so that no one goes to the vineyards.(AS)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,(AT)
so the grave(AU) snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
the worm(AV) feasts on them;(AW)
the wicked are no longer remembered(AX)
but are broken like a tree.(AY)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow they show no kindness.(AZ)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;(BA)
though they become established,(BB) they have no assurance of life.(BC)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,(BD)
but his eyes(BE) are on their ways.(BF)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;(BG)
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;(BH)
they are cut off like heads of grain.(BI)
25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?”(BJ)
Bildad
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite(BK) replied:
2 “Dominion and awe belong to God;(BL)
he establishes order in the heights of heaven.(BM)
3 Can his forces be numbered?
On whom does his light not rise?(BN)
4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?(BO)
5 If even the moon(BP) is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes,(BQ)
6 how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—
a human being,(BR) who is only a worm!”(BS)
Job
26 Then Job replied:
2 “How you have helped the powerless!(BT)
How you have saved the arm that is feeble!(BU)
3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
And what great insight(BV) you have displayed!
4 Who has helped you utter these words?
And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?(BW)
5 “The dead are in deep anguish,(BX)
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
6 The realm of the dead(BY) is naked before God;
Destruction[b](BZ) lies uncovered.(CA)
7 He spreads out the northern skies(CB) over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.(CC)
8 He wraps up the waters(CD) in his clouds,(CE)
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
9 He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds(CF) over it.
10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters(CG)
for a boundary between light and darkness.(CH)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,(CI)
aghast at his rebuke.
12 By his power he churned up the sea;(CJ)
by his wisdom(CK) he cut Rahab(CL) to pieces.
13 By his breath the skies(CM) became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.(CN)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper(CO) we hear of him!(CP)
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”(CQ)
Job’s Final Word to His Friends
27 And Job continued his discourse:(CR)
2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,(CS)
the Almighty,(CT) who has made my life bitter,(CU)
3 as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God(CV) in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not say anything wicked,
and my tongue will not utter lies.(CW)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity.(CX)
6 I will maintain my innocence(CY) and never let go of it;
my conscience(CZ) will not reproach me as long as I live.(DA)
7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,(DB)
my adversary(DC) like the unjust!
8 For what hope have the godless(DD) when they are cut off,
when God takes away their life?(DE)
9 Does God listen to their cry
when distress comes upon them?(DF)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?(DG)
Will they call on God at all times?
11 “I will teach you about the power of God;
the ways(DH) of the Almighty I will not conceal.(DI)
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
Why then this meaningless talk?
13 “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:(DJ)
14 However many his children,(DK) their fate is the sword;(DL)
his offspring will never have enough to eat.(DM)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
and their widows will not weep for them.(DN)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust(DO)
and clothes like piles of clay,(DP)
17 what he lays up(DQ) the righteous will wear,(DR)
and the innocent will divide his silver.(DS)
18 The house(DT) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,(DU)
like a hut(DV) made by a watchman.
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;(DW)
when he opens his eyes, all is gone.(DX)
20 Terrors(DY) overtake him like a flood;(DZ)
a tempest snatches him away in the night.(EA)
21 The east wind(EB) carries him off, and he is gone;(EC)
it sweeps him out of his place.(ED)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy(EE)
as he flees headlong(EF) from its power.(EG)
23 It claps its hands(EH) in derision
and hisses him out of his place.”(EI)
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found
28 There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.(EJ)
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.(EK)
3 Mortals put an end to the darkness;(EL)
they search out the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.(EM)
4 Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,(EN)
in places untouched by human feet;
far from other people they dangle and sway.
5 The earth, from which food comes,(EO)
is transformed below as by fire;
6 lapis lazuli(EP) comes from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.(EQ)
7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon’s eye has seen it.(ER)
8 Proud beasts(ES) do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.(ET)
9 People assault the flinty rock(EU) with their hands
and lay bare the roots of the mountains.(EV)
10 They tunnel through the rock;(EW)
their eyes see all its treasures.(EX)
11 They search[c] the sources of the rivers(EY)
and bring hidden things(EZ) to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found?(FA)
Where does understanding dwell?(FB)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;(FC)
it cannot be found in the land of the living.(FD)
14 The deep(FE) says, “It is not in me”;
the sea(FF) says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.(FG)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,(FH)
with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.(FI)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,(FJ)
nor can it be had for jewels of gold.(FK)
18 Coral(FL) and jasper(FM) are not worthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.(FN)
19 The topaz(FO) of Cush(FP) cannot compare with it;
it cannot be bought with pure gold.(FQ)
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?(FR)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds in the sky.(FS)
22 Destruction[d](FT) and Death(FU) say,
“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 God understands the way to it
and he alone(FV) knows where it dwells,(FW)
24 for he views the ends of the earth(FX)
and sees everything under the heavens.(FY)
25 When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,(FZ)
26 when he made a decree for the rain(GA)
and a path for the thunderstorm,(GB)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.(GC)
28 And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil(GD) is understanding.”(GE)
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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