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Chapter 8

Bildad’s First Speech. Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

How long will you utter such things?
    The words from your mouth are a mighty wind!
Does God pervert judgment,(A)
    does the Almighty pervert justice?
If your children have sinned against him
    and he has left them in the grip of their guilt,
Still, if you yourself have recourse to God
    and make supplication to the Almighty,
Should you be blameless and upright,
    surely now he will rouse himself for you
    and restore your rightful home.
Though your beginning was small,
    your future will flourish indeed.
Inquire of the former generations,
    pay attention to the experience of their ancestors—(B)
As we are but of yesterday and have no knowledge,
    because our days on earth are but a shadow—(C)
10 Will they not teach you and tell you
    and utter their words of understanding?
11 [a]Can the papyrus grow up without mire?
    Can the reed grass flourish without water?
12 While it is yet green and uncut,
    it withers quicker than any grass.
13 So is the end of everyone who forgets God,
    and so shall the hope of the godless perish.
14 His confidence is but a gossamer thread,
    his trust is a spider’s house.
15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand;
    he shall cling to it, but it shall not endure.
16 He thrives in full sun,
    and over his garden his shoots go forth;
17 About a heap of stones his roots are entwined;
    among the rocks he takes hold.
18 Yet if one tears him from his place,
    it will disown him: “I have never seen you!”
19 There he lies rotting beside the road,
    and out of the soil another sprouts.
20 Behold, God will not cast away the upright;
    neither will he take the hand of the wicked.
21 Once more will he fill your mouth with laughter
    and your lips with rejoicing.
22 Those who hate you shall be clothed with shame,
    and the tent of the wicked shall be no more.

Chapter 9

Job’s Second Reply. Then Job answered and said:

I know well that it is so;
    but how can anyone be in the right before God?
Should one wish to contend with him,[b]
    he could not answer him once in a thousand times.
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
    who has withstood him and remained whole?
He removes the mountains before they know it;
    he overturns them in his anger.
He shakes the earth out of its place,(D)
    and the pillars beneath it tremble.
He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
    he seals up the stars.
He alone stretches out the heavens(E)
    and treads upon the back of the sea.
He made the Bear and Orion,
    the Pleiades and the constellations of the south;
10 He does things great and unsearchable,
    things marvelous and innumerable.
11 Should he come near me, I do not see him;
    should he pass by, I am not aware of him;
12 Should he seize me forcibly, who can resist?
    Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
13 He is God and he does not relent;
    the helpers of Rahab[c] bow beneath him.
14 How then could I give him any answer,
    or choose out arguments against him!
15 Even though I were right, I could not answer,(F)
    but should rather beg for what was due me.
16 If I appealed to him and he answered me,
    I could not believe that he would listen to me;
17 With a storm he might overwhelm me,
    and multiply my wounds for nothing;
18 He would not allow me to draw breath,
    but might fill me with bitter griefs.
19 If it be a question of strength, he is mighty;
    or of judgment, who will call him to account?
20 Though I were right, my own mouth might condemn me;(G)
    were I innocent, it might put me in the wrong.
21 I am innocent, but I cannot know it;
    I despise my life.
22 It is all one! therefore I say:
    Both the innocent and the wicked he destroys.(H)
23 When the scourge slays suddenly,
    he scoffs at the despair of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;
    he covers the faces of its judges.
    If it is not he, who then is it?
25 My days are swifter than a runner,
    they flee away; they see no happiness;(I)
26 They shoot by like skiffs of reed,
    like an eagle swooping upon its prey.
27 If I say: I will forget my complaining,
    I will lay aside my sadness and be of good cheer,
28 Then I am in dread of all my pains;
    I know that you[d] will not hold me innocent.
29 It is I who will be accounted guilty;
    why then should I strive in vain?
30 If I should wash myself with soap
    and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 Yet you would plunge me in the ditch,
    so that my garments would abhor me.
32 For he is not a man like myself, that I should answer him,
    that we should come together in judgment.
33 Would that there were an arbiter between us,
    who could lay his hand upon us both
34     and withdraw his rod from me,
So that his terrors did not frighten me;
35     that I might speak without being afraid of him.
Since this is not the case with me,
    [e]I loathe my life.(J)

Chapter 10

I will give myself up to complaint;
    I will speak from the bitterness of my soul.
I will say to God: Do not put me in the wrong!
    Let me know why you oppose me.
[f]Is it a pleasure for you to oppress,
    to spurn the work of your hands,
    and shine on the plan of the wicked?
Have you eyes of flesh?
    Do you see as mortals see?
Are your days like the days of a mortal,(K)
    and are your years like a human lifetime,
That you seek for guilt in me
    and search after my sins,
Even though you know that I am not wicked,(L)
    and that none can deliver me out of your hand?
Your hands have formed me and fashioned me;
    will you then turn and destroy me?
Oh, remember that you fashioned me from clay!(M)
    Will you then bring me down to dust again?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk,
    and thicken me like cheese?
11 With skin and flesh you clothed me,
    with bones and sinews knit me together.
12 Life and love you granted me,
    and your providence has preserved my spirit.
13 Yet these things you have hidden in your heart;
    I know they are your purpose:
14 If I should sin, you would keep a watch on me,
    and from my guilt you would not absolve me.
15 If I should be wicked, alas for me!
    even if righteous, I dare not hold up my head,
    sated with shame, drenched in affliction!
16 Should it lift up, you hunt me like a lion:
    repeatedly you show your wondrous power against me,
17 You renew your attack[g] upon me
    and multiply your harassment of me;
    in waves your troops come against me.
18 Why then did you bring me forth from the womb?(N)
    I should have died and no eye have seen me.
19 I should be as though I had never lived;
    I should have been taken from the womb to the grave.
20 Are not my days few? Stop!
    Let me alone, that I may recover a little
21 Before I go whence I shall not return,(O)
    to the land of darkness and of gloom,
22 The dark, disordered land
    where darkness is the only light.

Footnotes

  1. 8:11–13 As marsh plants need water, so human beings need God. These verses may be a quotation from the teaching of the ancestors; cf. v. 10.
  2. 9:3 Job begins to explore the possibility of challenging God in a lawsuit, a theme that will recur (10:2), but he knows the odds are against him (vv. 12–20).
  3. 9:13 Rahab: another name for the primeval sea-monster; see notes on 3:8 and Ps 89:11; cf. Jb 7:12; 26:12.
  4. 9:28–31 You: refers to God.
  5. 10:1 I loathe my life: these words complete the thought of 9:35.
  6. 10:3–12 These lines are a delicate mixture of sarcasm and prayer; Job “reminds” God, challenging the divine providence. Note the piteous tone of the final request in vv. 20–22.
  7. 10:17 Attack: or “witnesses,” continuing the metaphor of lawsuit used in these chapters.

Bildad

Then Bildad the Shuhite(A) replied:

“How long will you say such things?(B)
    Your words are a blustering wind.(C)
Does God pervert justice?(D)
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(E)
When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.(F)
But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead(G) with the Almighty,(H)
if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(I)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.(J)
Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous(K) will your future be.(L)

“Ask the former generation(M)
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,(N)
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.(O)
10 Will they not instruct(P) you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?(Q)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?(R)
    Can reeds(S) thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.(T)
13 Such is the destiny(U) of all who forget God;(V)
    so perishes the hope of the godless.(W)
14 What they trust in is fragile[a];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.(X)
15 They lean on the web,(Y) but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.(Z)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots(AA) over the garden;(AB)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
    and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
    that place disowns(AC) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’(AD)
19 Surely its life withers(AE) away,
    and[b] from the soil other plants grow.(AF)

20 “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless(AG)
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.(AH)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter(AI)
    and your lips with shouts of joy.(AJ)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,(AK)
    and the tents(AL) of the wicked will be no more.”(AM)

Job

Then Job replied:

“Indeed, I know that this is true.
    But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?(AN)
Though they wished to dispute with him,(AO)
    they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.(AP)
His wisdom(AQ) is profound, his power is vast.(AR)
    Who has resisted(AS) him and come out unscathed?(AT)
He moves mountains(AU) without their knowing it
    and overturns them in his anger.(AV)
He shakes the earth(AW) from its place
    and makes its pillars tremble.(AX)
He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;(AY)
    he seals off the light of the stars.(AZ)
He alone stretches out the heavens(BA)
    and treads on the waves of the sea.(BB)
He is the Maker(BC) of the Bear[c] and Orion,
    the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.(BD)
10 He performs wonders(BE) that cannot be fathomed,
    miracles that cannot be counted.(BF)
11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;
    when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.(BG)
12 If he snatches away, who can stop him?(BH)
    Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’(BI)
13 God does not restrain his anger;(BJ)
    even the cohorts of Rahab(BK) cowered at his feet.

14 “How then can I dispute with him?
    How can I find words to argue with him?(BL)
15 Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;(BM)
    I could only plead(BN) with my Judge(BO) for mercy.(BP)
16 Even if I summoned him and he responded,
    I do not believe he would give me a hearing.(BQ)
17 He would crush me(BR) with a storm(BS)
    and multiply(BT) my wounds for no reason.(BU)
18 He would not let me catch my breath
    but would overwhelm me with misery.(BV)
19 If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!(BW)
    And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him[d]?(BX)
20 Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
    if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.(BY)

21 “Although I am blameless,(BZ)
    I have no concern for myself;(CA)
    I despise my own life.(CB)
22 It is all the same; that is why I say,
    ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’(CC)
23 When a scourge(CD) brings sudden death,
    he mocks the despair of the innocent.(CE)
24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,(CF)
    he blindfolds its judges.(CG)
    If it is not he, then who is it?(CH)

25 “My days are swifter than a runner;(CI)
    they fly away without a glimpse of joy.(CJ)
26 They skim past(CK) like boats of papyrus,(CL)
    like eagles swooping down on their prey.(CM)
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,(CN)
    I will change my expression, and smile,’
28 I still dread(CO) all my sufferings,
    for I know you will not hold me innocent.(CP)
29 Since I am already found guilty,
    why should I struggle in vain?(CQ)
30 Even if I washed myself with soap(CR)
    and my hands(CS) with cleansing powder,(CT)
31 you would plunge me into a slime pit(CU)
    so that even my clothes would detest me.(CV)

32 “He is not a mere mortal(CW) like me that I might answer him,(CX)
    that we might confront each other in court.(CY)
33 If only there were someone to mediate between us,(CZ)
    someone to bring us together,(DA)
34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,(DB)
    so that his terror would frighten me no more.(DC)
35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,(DD)
    but as it now stands with me, I cannot.(DE)

10 “I loathe my very life;(DF)
    therefore I will give free rein to my complaint
    and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.(DG)
I say to God:(DH) Do not declare me guilty,
    but tell me what charges(DI) you have against me.(DJ)
Does it please you to oppress me,(DK)
    to spurn the work of your hands,(DL)
    while you smile on the plans of the wicked?(DM)
Do you have eyes of flesh?
    Do you see as a mortal sees?(DN)
Are your days like those of a mortal
    or your years like those of a strong man,(DO)
that you must search out my faults
    and probe after my sin(DP)
though you know that I am not guilty(DQ)
    and that no one can rescue me from your hand?(DR)

“Your hands shaped(DS) me and made me.
    Will you now turn and destroy me?(DT)
Remember that you molded me like clay.(DU)
    Will you now turn me to dust again?(DV)
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
    and curdle me like cheese,
11 clothe me with skin and flesh
    and knit me together(DW) with bones and sinews?
12 You gave me life(DX) and showed me kindness,(DY)
    and in your providence(DZ) watched over(EA) my spirit.

13 “But this is what you concealed in your heart,
    and I know that this was in your mind:(EB)
14 If I sinned, you would be watching me(EC)
    and would not let my offense go unpunished.(ED)
15 If I am guilty(EE)—woe to me!(EF)
    Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,(EG)
for I am full of shame
    and drowned in[e] my affliction.(EH)
16 If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion(EI)
    and again display your awesome power against me.(EJ)
17 You bring new witnesses against me(EK)
    and increase your anger toward me;(EL)
    your forces come against me wave upon wave.(EM)

18 “Why then did you bring me out of the womb?(EN)
    I wish I had died before any eye saw me.(EO)
19 If only I had never come into being,
    or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!(EP)
20 Are not my few days(EQ) almost over?(ER)
    Turn away from me(ES) so I can have a moment’s joy(ET)
21 before I go to the place of no return,(EU)
    to the land of gloom and utter darkness,(EV)
22 to the land of deepest night,
    of utter darkness(EW) and disorder,
    where even the light is like darkness.”(EX)

Footnotes

  1. Job 8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. Job 8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that
  3. Job 9:9 Or of Leo
  4. Job 9:19 See Septuagint; Hebrew me.
  5. Job 10:15 Or and aware of

Chapter 7

Solomon Is Like All Others

I too am a mortal, the same as all the rest,(A)
    and a descendant of the first one formed of earth.[a]
And in my mother’s womb I was molded into flesh
    in a ten-month period[b]—body and blood,
    from the seed of a man, and the pleasure that accompanies marriage.
And I too, when born, inhaled the common air,
    and fell upon the kindred earth;
    wailing, I uttered that first sound common to all.
In swaddling clothes and with constant care I was nurtured.
For no king has any different origin or birth;
    one is the entry into life for all,
    and in one same way they leave it.(B)

Solomon Prayed and Wisdom and Riches Came to Him

Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me;
    I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.(C)
I preferred her to scepter and throne,(D)
And deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
    nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
Because all gold, in view of her, is a bit of sand,
    and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
10 Beyond health and beauty I loved her,
And I chose to have her rather than the light,
    because her radiance never ceases.(E)
11 Yet all good things together came to me with her,(F)
    and countless riches at her hands;
12 I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is their leader,
    though I had not known that she is their mother.[c](G)

Solomon Prays for Help to Speak Worthily of Wisdom

13 Sincerely I learned about her, and ungrudgingly do I share—
    her riches I do not hide away;(H)
14 For she is an unfailing treasure;
    those who gain this treasure win the friendship of God,
    being commended by the gifts that come from her discipline.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. 7:1 First one formed of earth: Adam. The author omits throughout the book the proper names of the characters in sacred history of whom he speaks; see especially chap. 10.
  2. 7:2 In a ten-month period: ten lunar months.
  3. 7:12 Mother: lit., “she who begets.” Although Wisdom herself is begotten of God (Prv 8:22–24), she is here the one who brings into being.
  4. 7:14 Discipline: cf. note on 1:5.
'Wisdom 7:1-14' not found for the version: New International Version.

28 After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem. 29 As he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples.(A) 30 He said, “Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.(B) 31 And if anyone should ask you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will answer, ‘The Master has need of it.’” 32 So those who had been sent went off and found everything just as he had told them.(C) 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying this colt?” 34 They answered, “The Master has need of it.” 35 (D)So they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the colt, and helped Jesus to mount. 36 As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; 37 and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. 38 They proclaimed:

“Blessed is the king
    who comes in the name of the Lord.[a]
Peace in heaven
    and glory in the highest.”(E)

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”[b] 40 He said in reply, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!”

The Lament for Jerusalem.[c] 41 (F)As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it,(G) 42 saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.(H) 43 [d]For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.(I) 44 They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”(J)

The Cleansing of the Temple. 45 (K)Then Jesus entered the temple area[e] and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things,(L) 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.’”(M) 47 And every day he was teaching in the temple area.(N) The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death,(O) 48 but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

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Footnotes

  1. 19:38 Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord: only in Luke is Jesus explicitly given the title king when he enters Jerusalem in triumph. Luke has inserted this title into the words of Ps 118:26 that heralded the arrival of the pilgrims coming to the holy city and to the temple. Jesus is thereby acclaimed as king (see Lk 1:32) and as the one who comes (see Mal 3:1; Lk 7:19). Peace in heaven…: the acclamation of the disciples of Jesus in Luke echoes the announcement of the angels at the birth of Jesus (Lk 2:14). The peace Jesus brings is associated with the salvation to be accomplished here in Jerusalem.
  2. 19:39 Rebuke your disciples: this command, found only in Luke, was given so that the Roman authorities would not interpret the acclamation of Jesus as king as an uprising against them; cf. Lk 23:2–3.
  3. 19:41–44 The lament for Jerusalem is found only in Luke. By not accepting Jesus (the one who mediates peace), Jerusalem will not find peace but will become the victim of devastation.
  4. 19:43–44 Luke may be describing the actual disaster that befell Jerusalem in A.D. 70 when it was destroyed by the Romans during the First Revolt.
  5. 19:45–46 Immediately upon entering the holy city, Jesus in a display of his authority enters the temple (see Mal 3:1–3) and lays claim to it after cleansing it that it might become a proper place for his teaching ministry in Jerusalem (Lk 19:47; 20:1; 21:37; 22:53). See Mt 21:12–17; Mk 11:15–19; Jn 2:13–17 and the notes there.

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King(A)(B)

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.(C) 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany(D) at the hill called the Mount of Olives,(E) he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.(F) 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks(G) on the road.

37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives,(H) the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[a](I)

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”(J)

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”(K)

40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”(L)

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it(M) 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.(N) 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.(O) They will not leave one stone on another,(P) because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming(Q) to you.”

Jesus at the Temple(R)

45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’[b];(S) but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’[c](T)

47 Every day he was teaching at the temple.(U) But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.(V) 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 19:38 Psalm 118:26
  2. Luke 19:46 Isaiah 56:7
  3. Luke 19:46 Jer. 7:11