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27 And Job continued ·speaking [L his discourse]:

“·As surely as God lives [By the living God], who has ·taken away [turned aside] my rights,
    ·the Almighty [Shaddai], who has made me ·unhappy [bitter],
as long as ·I am alive [my breath is in me]
    and God’s ·breath of life [L spirit; breath; Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7] is in my nose,
my lips will not speak ·evil [or falsehood],
    and my tongue will not ·tell [L mutter] ·a lie [deceit].
·I will never [Far be it from me to] ·agree [concede] you are right;
    until I ·die [expire], I will never ·stop saying I am innocent [L turn aside my innocence].
I will ·insist that I am right [L embrace my righteousness]; I will not ·back down [weaken].
    ·My conscience will never bother me [L My heart will not reproach my days].

“Let my enemies be like evil people,
    ·my foes [those who rise up against me] like ·those who are wrong [the guilty].
What hope do the wicked have when they ·die [L are cut off],
    when God ·takes their life away [requires their life]?
God will not listen to their cries
    when trouble comes to them.
10 ·They will not [Will they…?] find joy in ·the Almighty [Shaddai],
    ·even though [or will…?] they call out to God all the time.

11 “I will ·teach [instruct] you about the ·power [L hand] of God
    and will not ·hide [conceal] ·the ways of [L that which is with] ·the Almighty [Shaddai].
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
    ·So why are we having all this talk that means nothing [L Why have you become so meaningless/vaporous/vain]?

13 “Here is ·what God has planned for evil people [L the lot of evil people with God],
    and ·that the Almighty will give to cruel people [L the inheritance that the cruel receive from the Almighty/Shaddai]:
14 They may have many children, but the sword will kill them.
    Their ·children [L offspring] will never have enough ·to eat [L bread; food].
15 Then those who are left will die of disease and be buried,
    and the widows will not even cry for them.
16 ·The wicked [L They] may heap up silver like ·piles of dirt [dust]
    and ·have so many clothes they are like piles of clay [pile up clothes like mounds of earth/clay].
17 But ·good people [the righteous] will wear ·what evil people have gathered [L them],
    and the innocent will ·divide up [distribute among themselves] their silver.
18 ·The houses the wicked build are [L They will build their houses] like a ·spider’s web [or moth’s cocoon],
    like a ·hut [booth; shelter] that a guard builds.
19 ·The wicked are rich when they go to bed [L They may lie down wealthy],
    but ·they are rich for the last time [L not again];
    when they open their eyes, everything is gone.
20 ·Fears [Terrors] ·come over [overtake] them like ·a flood [waters],
    and a storm snatches them away in the night.
21 The east wind will ·carry them away [L lift them up], and then they are gone,
    because it sweeps them out of their place.
22 ·The wind [or God; L He; It] will hit them without mercy
    as they ·try to run away [flee] from ·its power [or his power/hand].
23 It will be as if ·the wind [or God; L he; it] is clapping ·its [or his] hands;
    ·it [or he] will ·whistle [or hiss] at them as they run from their place [C clapping and hissing are gestures of contempt].

Job Affirms His Righteousness

27 Job again took up his (A)discourse and said,

“As God lives, (B)who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, (C)who has embittered my soul,
For as long as [a]life is in me,
And the [b](D)breath of God is in my nostrils,
My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will (E)my tongue mutter deceit.
Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Until I die, (F)I will not [c]give up my integrity.
I have (G)kept hold of my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not rebuke any of my days.

The State of the Godless

“May my enemy be as the wicked,
And [d]my opponent as the criminal.
For what is (H)the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life,
When God requires (I)his [e]life?
Will God (J)hear his cry
When (K)distress comes upon him?
10 Or will he take (L)pleasure in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will instruct you in the [f]power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you talk of nothing?

13 “This is (M)the portion of a wicked person from God,
And the inheritance which (N)tyrants receive from the Almighty:
14 Though his sons are many, [g]they are destined (O)for the sword;
And his (P)descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And [h]their (Q)widows will not be able to weep.
16 Though he piles up silver like dust,
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, (R)but the righteous will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He has built his (S)house like the [i]spider’s web,
Or a hut which the watchman has made.
19 He lies down rich, but never [j]again;
He opens his eyes, and (T)it no longer exists.
20 (U)Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A storm steals him away (V)in the night.
21 The east (W)wind carries him away, and he is gone;
For it sweeps him (X)away from his place.
22 For it will hurl at him (Y)without mercy;
He will certainly try to (Z)flee from its [k]power.
23 People will [l]clap their hands at him,
And will (AA)whistle at him from their places.

Footnotes

  1. Job 27:3 Lit breath
  2. Job 27:3 Or spirit
  3. Job 27:5 Lit remove from me
  4. Job 27:7 Lit one who rises up against me
  5. Job 27:8 Or soul
  6. Job 27:11 Lit hand
  7. Job 27:14 Lit the sword is for them
  8. Job 27:15 As in ancient versions; Heb his
  9. Job 27:18 As in ancient versions; Heb moth
  10. Job 27:19 As in ancient versions; Heb will be gathered
  11. Job 27:22 Lit hand
  12. Job 27:23 I.e., mock and ridicule him