Job 27
New American Standard Bible
Job Affirms His Righteousness
27 Job again took up his (A)discourse and said,
2 “As God lives, (B)who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, (C)who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as [a]life is in me,
And the [b](D)breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will (E)my tongue mutter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Until I die, (F)I will not [c]give up my integrity.
6 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
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked,
And [d]my opponent as the criminal.
8 For what is (H)the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life,
When God requires (I)his [e]life?
9 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
- Job 27:3 Lit breath
- Job 27:3 Or spirit
- Job 27:5 Lit remove from me
- Job 27:7 Lit one who rises up against me
- Job 27:8 Or soul
- Job 27:11 Lit hand
- Job 27:14 Lit the sword is for them
- Job 27:15 As in ancient versions; Heb his
- Job 27:18 As in ancient versions; Heb moth
- Job 27:19 As in ancient versions; Heb will be gathered
- Job 27:22 Lit hand
- Job 27:23 I.e., mock and ridicule him
Job 27
Holman Christian Standard Bible
27 Job continued his discourse, saying:
2 As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,(A)
and the Almighty who has made me bitter,(B)
3 as long as my breath is still in me
and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,(C)
4 my lips will not speak unjustly,
and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5 I will never affirm that you are right.
I will maintain my integrity[a](D) until I die.
6 I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go.
My conscience(E) will not accuse me as long as I live!
7 May my enemy be like the wicked
and my opponent like the unjust.
8 For what hope does the godless man(F) have when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?(G)
9 Will God hear his cry
when distress comes on him?
10 Will he delight(H) in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned.[b]
12 All of you have seen this for yourselves,
why do you keep up this empty talk?(I)
13 This is a wicked man’s lot(J) from God,
the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty.
14 Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword;
his descendants will never have enough food.
15 Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,
yet their widows will not weep for them.(K)
16 Though he piles up silver like dust
and heaps up a wardrobe like clay—
17 he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide up his silver.(L)
18 The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon
or a booth set up by a watchman.(M)
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, it is gone.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;(N)
a storm(O) wind sweeps him away at night.
21 An east wind picks him up, and he is gone;
it carries him away from his place.
22 It blasts at him without mercy,
while he flees desperately from its grasp.
23 It claps(P) its hands at him
and scorns him from its place.
Job 27
New Living Translation
Job’s Final Speech
27 Job continued speaking:
2 “I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights,
by the Almighty who has embittered my soul—
3 As long as I live,
while I have breath from God,
4 my lips will speak no evil,
and my tongue will speak no lies.
5 I will never concede that you are right;
I will defend my integrity until I die.
6 I will maintain my innocence without wavering.
My conscience is clear for as long as I live.
7 “May my enemy be punished like the wicked,
my adversary like those who do evil.
8 For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off
and takes away their life?
9 Will God listen to their cry
when trouble comes upon them?
10 Can they take delight in the Almighty?
Can they call to God at any time?
11 I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not conceal anything concerning the Almighty.
12 But you have seen all this,
yet you say all these useless things to me.
13 “This is what the wicked will receive from God;
this is their inheritance from the Almighty.
14 They may have many children,
but the children will die in war or starve to death.
15 Those who survive will die of a plague,
and not even their widows will mourn them.
16 “Evil people may have piles of money
and may store away mounds of clothing.
17 But the righteous will wear that clothing,
and the innocent will divide that money.
18 The wicked build houses as fragile as a spider’s web,[a]
as flimsy as a shelter made of branches.
19 The wicked go to bed rich
but wake to find that all their wealth is gone.
20 Terror overwhelms them like a flood,
and they are blown away in the storms of the night.
21 The east wind carries them away, and they are gone.
It sweeps them away.
22 It whirls down on them without mercy.
They struggle to flee from its power.
23 But everyone jeers at them
and mocks them.
Job 27
English Standard Version
Job Continues: I Will Maintain My Integrity
27 And Job again (A)took up his discourse, and said:
2 “As God lives, who has (B)taken away my right,
and the Almighty, who has (C)made my soul bitter,
3 as long as my breath is in me,
and (D)the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak (E)falsehood,
and my tongue will not utter (F)deceit.
5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;
till I die I will not put away my (G)integrity from me.
6 I (H)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
my heart does not (I)reproach me for any of my days.
7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 (J)For what is the hope of the godless (K)when God cuts him off,
when God takes away his life?
9 (L)Will God hear his cry
when distress comes upon him?
10 Will he (M)take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
(N)what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?
13 (O)“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
and the heritage that (P)oppressors receive from the Almighty:
14 If his (Q)children are multiplied, it is for (R)the sword,
and his descendants have not enough bread.
15 Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
and his (S)widows do not weep.
16 Though he (T)heap up silver like dust,
and pile up clothing like clay,
17 he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and (U)the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his (V)house like a moth's,
like (W)a booth that (X)a watchman makes.
19 He goes to bed rich, but will (Y)do so no more;
he opens his eyes, and (Z)his wealth is gone.
20 (AA)Terrors overtake him like (AB)a flood;
in the night a whirlwind (AC)carries him off.
21 (AD)The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
it (AE)sweeps him out of his place.
22 It[a] hurls at him (AF)without pity;
he flees from its[b] power in headlong flight.
23 It (AG)claps its hands at him
and (AH)hisses at him from its place.
Job 27
New Century Version
27 And Job continued speaking:
2 “As surely as God lives, who has taken away my rights,
the Almighty, who has made me unhappy,
3 as long as I am alive
and God’s breath of life is in my nose,
4 my lips will not speak evil,
and my tongue will not tell a lie.
5 I will never agree you are right;
until I die, I will never stop saying I am innocent.
6 I will insist that I am right; I will not back down.
My conscience will never bother me.
7 “Let my enemies be like evil people,
my foes like those who are wrong.
8 What hope do the wicked have when they die,
when God takes their life away?
9 God will not listen to their cries
when trouble comes to them.
10 They will not find joy in the Almighty,
even though they call out to God all the time.
11 “I will teach you about the power of God
and will not hide the ways of the Almighty.
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
So why are we having all this talk that means nothing?
13 “Here is what God has planned for evil people,
and what the Almighty will give to cruel people:
14 They may have many children, but the sword will kill them.
Their children who are left will never have enough to eat.
15 Then they will die of disease and be buried,
and the widows will not even cry for them.
16 The wicked may heap up silver like piles of dirt
and have so many clothes they are like piles of clay.
17 But good people will wear what evil people have gathered,
and the innocent will divide up their silver.
18 The houses the wicked build are like a spider’s web,
like a hut that a guard builds.
19 The wicked are rich when they go to bed,
but they are rich for the last time;
when they open their eyes, everything is gone.
20 Fears come over them like a flood,
and a storm snatches them away in the night.
21 The east wind will carry them away, and then they are gone,
because it sweeps them out of their place.
22 The wind will hit them without mercy
as they try to run away from its power.
23 It will be as if the wind is clapping its hands;
it will whistle at them as they run from their place.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
