Job 1:1-21:14
Christian Standard Bible
Job and His Family
1 There was a man in the country of Uz(A) named Job.(B) He was a man of complete integrity,(C) who feared God and turned away from evil.(D) 2 He had seven sons and three daughters.(E) 3 His estate included seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys,(F) and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.(G)
4 His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for[a] all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.”(H) This was Job’s regular practice.
Satan’s First Test of Job
6 One day the sons of God(I) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came with them. 7 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,”(J) Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity,(K) who fears God and turns away from evil.”(L)
9 Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Haven’t you placed a hedge around(M) him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike(N) everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12 “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and reported, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby, 15 the Sabeans(O) swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
16 He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “God’s fire fell from heaven.(P) It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
17 That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
18 He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house. 19 Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
20 Then Job stood up, tore(Q) his robe, and shaved(R) his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, 21 saying:
Naked I came from my mother’s womb,(S)
and naked I will leave this life.[c](T)
The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.(U)
22 Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.[d](V)
Satan’s Second Test of Job
2 One day the sons of God(W) came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity,(X) who fears God and turns away from evil.(Y) He still retains his integrity, even though you incited me against him, to destroy him for no good reason.”
4 “Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike(Z) his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
6 “Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.(AA) 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.(AB)
9 His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.[e]
Job’s Three Friends
11 Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite,(AC) Bildad the Shuhite,(AD) and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort(AE) him. 12 When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud,(AF) and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.(AG) 13 Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights,(AH) but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering(AI) was very intense.
Job’s Opening Speech
3 After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born. 2 He said:
3 May the day I was born perish,
and the night that said,
“A boy is conceived.”(AJ)
4 If only that day had turned to darkness!
May God above not care about it,
or light shine on it.
5 May darkness and gloom(AK) reclaim it,
and a cloud settle over it.
May what darkens the day terrify it.
6 If only darkness had taken that night away!
May it not appear[f] among the days of the year
or be listed in the calendar.[g]
7 Yes, may that night be barren;
may no joyful shout(AL) be heard in it.
8 Let those who curse days
condemn(AM) it,
those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.(AN)
9 May its morning stars grow dark.
May it wait for daylight but have none;
may it not see the breaking[h] of dawn.
10 For that night did not shut
the doors of my mother’s womb,
and hide sorrow from my eyes.
11 Why was I not stillborn;
why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?(AO)
12 Why did the knees receive me,
and why were there breasts for me to nurse?(AP)
13 Now I would certainly be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep.(AQ)
Then I would be at rest(AR)
14 with the kings and counselors(AS) of the earth,
who rebuilt ruined cities for themselves,
15 or with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses(AT) with silver.
16 Or why was I not hidden like a miscarried child,(AU)
like infants who never see daylight?
17 There the wicked(AV) cease to make trouble,
and there the weary find rest.
18 The captives are completely at rest;(AW)
they do not hear a taskmaster’s voice.(AX)
19 Both small and great are there,
and the slave is set free from his master.(AY)
20 Why is light given to one burdened with grief,
and life to those whose existence is bitter,(AZ)
21 who wait for death,(BA) but it does not come,
and search for it more than for hidden treasure,
22 who are filled with much joy
and are glad when they reach the grave?(BB)
23 Why is life given to a man whose path is hidden,(BC)
whom God has hedged in?
24 I sigh when food(BD) is put before me,[i]
and my groans pour out like water.(BE)
25 For the thing I feared has overtaken me,
and what I dreaded has happened to me.(BF)
26 I cannot relax or be calm;
I have no rest,(BG) for turmoil has come.
First Series of Speeches
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Should anyone try to speak with you
when you are exhausted?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Indeed, you have instructed many
and have strengthened(BH) weak hands.
4 Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling
and braced the knees that were buckling.(BI)
5 But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes(BJ) you, and you are dismayed.
6 Isn’t your piety your confidence,
and the integrity of your life[j] your hope?(BK)
7 Consider: Who has perished when he was innocent?
Where have the honest[k] been destroyed?(BL)
8 In my experience, those who plow injustice
and those who sow trouble(BM) reap the same.(BN)
9 They perish at a single blast(BO) from God
and come to an end by the breath of his nostrils.(BP)
10 The lion may roar and the fierce lion(BQ) growl,
but the teeth of young lions are broken.(BR)
11 The strong lion dies if it catches no prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.(BS)
12 A word was brought to me in secret;
my ears caught a whisper of it.(BT)
13 Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,(BU)
when deep sleep(BV) comes over men,
14 fear and trembling came over me(BW)
and made all my bones shake.
15 I felt a draft[l] on my face,
and the hair on my body stood up.
16 A figure stood there,
but I could not recognize its appearance;
a form loomed before my eyes.
I heard a whispering voice:
17 “Can a mortal be righteous before God?
Can a man be more pure than his Maker?” (BX)
18 If God puts no trust in his servants
and he charges his angels with foolishness,[m](BY)
19 how much more those who dwell in clay houses,(BZ)
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth!
20 They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;
they perish forever while no one notices.(CA)
21 Are their tent cords not pulled up?
They die without wisdom.(CB)
5 Call out! Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones(CC) will you turn to?
2 For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible.(CD)
3 I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.
4 His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,(CE)
with no one to rescue them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.[n]
The thirsty[o] pant for his children’s wealth.
6 For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
7 But humans are born for trouble(CF)
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 However, if I were you, I would appeal to God
and would present my case to him.(CG)
9 He does great(CH) and unsearchable things,
wonders without number.(CI)
10 He gives rain to the earth
and sends water to the fields.(CJ)
11 He sets the lowly on high,
and mourners are lifted to safety.(CK)
12 He frustrates the schemes of the crafty
so that they[p] achieve no success.
13 He traps the wise in their craftiness
so that the plans of the deceptive
are quickly brought to an end.(CL)
14 They encounter darkness by day,
and they grope at noon
as if it were night.(CM)
15 He saves the needy from their sharp words[q](CN)
and from the clutches of the powerful.
16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.(CO)
17 See how happy is the person whom God corrects;
so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds but he also bandages;
he strikes, but his hands also heal.(CP)
19 He will rescue you from six calamities;
no harm will touch you in seven.
20 In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in battle, from the power of the sword.(CQ)
21 You will be safe from slander[r]
and not fear destruction when it comes.(CR)
22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger
and not fear the land’s wild creatures.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.(CS)
24 You will know that your tent is secure,(CT)
and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home.
25 You will also know that your offspring will be many
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26 You will approach the grave(CU) in full vigor,(CV)
as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.
27 We have investigated this, and it is true!
Hear it and understand it for yourself.
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
6 Then Job answered:
2 If only my grief could be weighed
and my devastation(CW) placed with it on the scales.(CX)
3 For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!
That is why my words are rash.
4 Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced[s] me;
my spirit drinks their poison.
God’s terrors are arrayed against me.(CY)
5 Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass
or an ox low over its fodder?
6 Is bland food eaten without salt?
Is there flavor in an egg white?[t]
7 I refuse to touch them;
they are like contaminated food.(CZ)
8 If only my request would be granted
and God would provide what I hope for:
9 that he would decide to crush me,
to unleash his power and cut me off!
10 It would still bring me comfort,
and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain
that I have not denied[u] the words of the Holy One.(DA)
11 What strength do I have, that I should continue to hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength that of stone,
or my flesh made of bronze?
13 Since I cannot help myself,
the hope for success has been banished from me.
14 A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends,[v](DB)
even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,
as seasonal streams that overflow
16 and become darkened[w] because of ice,
and the snow melts into them.
17 The wadis evaporate in warm weather;
they disappear from their channels in hot weather.
18 Caravans turn away from their routes,
go up into the desert, and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look for these streams.
The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.
20 They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water.
When they arrive there, they are disappointed.(DC)
21 So this is what you have now become to me.[x]
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.
22 Have I ever said, “Give me something”
or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth”
23 or “Deliver me from the enemy’s hand”
or “Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless”?
24 Teach me, and I will be silent.
Help me understand what I did wrong.
25 How painful honest words can be!
But what does your rebuke prove?
26 Do you think that you can disprove my words
or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind?(DD)
27 No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.(DE)
28 But now, please look at me;
I will not lie to your face.(DF)
29 Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness(DG) is still the issue.
30 Is there injustice on my tongue
or can my palate not taste disaster?(DH)
7 Isn’t each person consigned to forced labor(DI) on earth?
Are not his days like those of a hired worker?
2 Like a slave he longs for shade;
like a hired worker he waits for his pay.
3 So I have been made to inherit months of futility,
and troubled nights have been assigned to me.(DJ)
4 When I lie down I think,
“When will I get up?”
But the evening drags on endlessly,
and I toss and turn until dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt.[y]
My skin forms scabs[z] and then oozes.(DK)
6 My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.(DL)
7 Remember that my life is but a breath.
My eye will never again see anything good.(DM)
8 The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.(DN)
9 As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
so the one who goes down to Sheol(DO) will never rise again.
10 He will never return to his house;
his hometown will no longer remember[aa] him.(DP)
11 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea[ab](DQ) or a sea monster,(DR)
that you keep me under guard?
13 When I say, “My bed will comfort me,
and my couch will ease my complaint,”
14 then you frighten me with dreams,
and terrify me with visions,(DS)
15 so that I prefer strangling[ac]—
death rather than life in this body.[ad](DT)
16 I give up! I will not live forever.
Leave me alone,(DU) for my days are a breath.[ae]
17 What is a mere human, that you think so highly of him
and pay so much attention to him?(DV)
18 You inspect him every morning,
and put him to the test every moment.(DW)
19 Will you ever look away from me,
or leave me alone long enough to swallow?[af]
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
Watcher of humanity?
Why have you made me your target,(DX)
so that I have become a burden to you?[ag]
21 Why not forgive my sin
and pardon my iniquity?(DY)
For soon I will lie down in the grave.(DZ)
You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.(EA)
Bildad Speaks
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2 How long will you go on saying these things?
Your words(EB) are a blast of wind.(EC)
3 Does God pervert justice?(ED)
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(EE)
4 Since your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to their rebellion.
5 But if you earnestly seek(EF) God
and ask the Almighty for mercy,(EG)
6 if you are pure and upright,
then he will move even now on your behalf
and restore the home where your righteousness dwells.(EH)
7 Then, even if your beginnings were modest,
your final days will be full of prosperity.(EI)
8 For ask the previous generation,
and pay attention to what their ancestors discovered,(EJ)
9 since we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are but a shadow.(EK)
10 Will they not teach you and tell you
and speak from their understanding?
11 Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?
12 While still uncut shoots,
they would dry up quicker than any other plant.
13 Such is the destiny[ah] of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless(EL) will perish.
14 His source of confidence is fragile;[ai]
what he trusts in is a spider’s web.(EM)
15 He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.
16 He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine;
his shoots spread out over his garden.
17 His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.
He looks for a home among the stones.
18 If he is uprooted[aj] from his place,
it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.”(EN)
19 Surely this is the joy of his way of life;
yet others will sprout from the dust.
20 Look, God does not reject a person of integrity,
and he will not support[ak] evildoers.(EO)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with a shout of joy.(EP)
22 Your enemies will be clothed with shame;(EQ)
the tent(ER) of the wicked will no longer exist.
Job’s Reply to Bildad
9 Then Job answered:
2 Yes, I know what you’ve said is true,
but how can a person be justified before God?(ES)
3 If one wanted to take(ET) him to court,
he could not answer God[al] once in a thousand times.(EU)
4 God is wise(EV) and all-powerful.
Who has opposed him and come out unharmed?
5 He removes mountains without their knowledge,
overturning them in his anger.(EW)
6 He shakes the earth from its place
so that its pillars tremble.
7 He commands the sun not to shine
and seals off the stars.(EX)
8 He alone stretches out the heavens(EY)
and treads on the waves of the sea.[am]
9 He makes the stars: the Bear,[an] Orion,
the Pleiades,(EZ) and the constellations[ao] of the southern sky.
10 He does great and unsearchable things,
wonders without number.(FA)
11 If he passed by me, I wouldn’t see him;(FB)
if he went by, I wouldn’t recognize him.
12 If he snatches something, who can stop[ap] him?
Who can ask him, “What are you doing?” (FC)
13 God does not hold back his anger;
Rahab’s(FD) assistants cringe in fear beneath him!
14 How then can I answer him
or choose my arguments against him?
15 Even if I were in the right, I could not answer.
I could only beg my Judge for mercy.(FE)
16 If I summoned him and he answered me,
I do not believe he would pay attention to what I said.
17 He batters me with a whirlwind(FF)
and multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 He doesn’t let me catch my breath
but fills me with bitter experiences.
19 If it is a matter of strength, look, he is the powerful one!(FG)
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon(FH) him?[aq]
20 Even if I were in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;(FI)
if I were blameless, my mouth would declare me guilty.
21 Though I am blameless,
I no longer care about myself;
I renounce my life.(FJ)
22 It is all the same. Therefore I say,
“He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.”(FK)
23 When catastrophe[ar] brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 The earth[as] is handed over to the wicked;
he blindfolds[at] its judges.(FL)
If it isn’t he, then who is it?
25 My days fly by faster than a runner;[au](FM)
they flee without seeing any good.(FN)
26 They sweep by like boats made of papyrus,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.(FO)
27 If I said, “I will forget my complaint,
change my expression, and smile,”
28 I would still live in terror of all my pains.(FP)
I know you will not acquit me.(FQ)
29 Since I will be found guilty,(FR)
why should I struggle in vain?
30 If I wash myself with snow,
and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 then you dip me in a pit of mud,
and my own clothes despise me!
32 For he is not a man like me, that I can answer him,(FS)
that we can take each other to court.
33 There is no mediator between us,
to lay his hand on both of us.
34 Let him take his rod away from me
so his terror will no longer frighten me.(FT)
35 Then I would speak and not fear him.
But that is not the case; I am on my own.
10 I am disgusted with my life.(FU)
I will give vent to my complaint
and speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God,
“Do not declare me guilty!
Let me know why you prosecute me.
3 Is it good for you to oppress,
to reject the work of your hands,(FV)
and favor[av] the plans of the wicked?(FW)
4 Do you have eyes of flesh,
or do you see as a human sees?
5 Are your days like those of a human,
or your years like those of a man,(FX)
6 that you look for my iniquity(FY)
and search for my sin,
7 even though you know that I am not wicked
and that there is no one who can rescue from your power?(FZ)
8 “Your hands shaped me and formed me.(GA)
Will you now turn and destroy me?
9 Please remember that you formed me like clay.
Will you now return me to dust?(GB)
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and wove me together with bones and tendons.(GC)
12 You gave me life and faithful love,
and your care has guarded my life.
13 “Yet you concealed these thoughts in your heart;
I know that this was your hidden plan:[aw]
14 if I sin, you would notice,[ax]
and would not acquit me of my iniquity.(GD)
15 If I am wicked, woe to me!
And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head.
I am filled with shame(GE)
and have drunk deeply of[ay] my affliction.(GF)
16 If I am proud,[az] you hunt me like a lion
and again display your miraculous power against me.(GG)
17 You produce new witnesses[ba] against me
and multiply your anger toward me.
Hardships assault me, wave after wave.[bb]
18 “Why did you bring me out of the womb?(GH)
I should have died and never been seen.
19 I wish[bc] I had never existed
but had been carried from the womb to the grave.(GI)
20 Are my days not few? Stop it![bd]
Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little
21 before I go to a land of darkness and gloom,(GJ)
never to return.
22 It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness,
gloomy and chaotic,
where even the light is like[be] the darkness.”
Zophar Speaks
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 Should this abundance of words(GK) go unanswered
and such a talker[bf] be acquitted?
3 Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?
4 You have said, “My teaching(GL) is sound,
and I am pure in your sight.”
5 But if only God would speak
and open his lips against you!
6 He would show you the secrets of wisdom,(GM)
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your iniquity.(GN)
7 Can you fathom the depths of God
or discover the limits of the Almighty?(GO)
8 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?(GP)
9 Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 If he passes by and throws someone in prison
or convenes a court, who can stop him?(GQ)
11 Surely he knows which people are worthless.
If he sees iniquity, will he not take note of it?(GR)
12 But a stupid person will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a human!
13 As for you, if you redirect your heart
and spread out your hands to him in prayer—
14 if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—
15 then you will hold your head high, free from fault.
You will be firmly established and unafraid.(GS)
16 For you will forget your suffering,
recalling it only as water that has flowed by.
17 Your life will be brighter than noonday;
its darkness[bg] will be like the morning.(GT)
18 You will be confident, because there is hope.(GU)
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.(GV)
19 You will lie down with no one to frighten you,
and many will seek your favor.(GW)
20 But the sight of the wicked(GX) will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.(GY)
Job’s Reply to Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
2 No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I also have a mind like you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?[bh](GZ)
4 I am a laughingstock to my[bi] friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.[bj]
The righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock.(HA)
5 The one who is at ease(HB) holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.
6 The tents of robbers are safe,(HC)
and those who trouble God are secure;
God holds them in his hands.[bk](HD)
7 But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.(HE)
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you;
let the fish of the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?(HF)
10 The life of every living thing is in his hand,
as well as the breath of all humanity.(HG)
11 Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom is found with the elderly,
and understanding comes with long life.(HH)
13 Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are his.(HI)
14 Whatever he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
whoever he imprisons cannot be released.(HJ)
15 When he withholds water, everything dries up,
and when he releases it, it destroys the land.(HK)
16 True wisdom and power belong to him.
The deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes judges go mad.(HL)
18 He releases the bonds[bl] put on by kings(HM)
and fastens a belt around their waists.
19 He leads priests away barefoot
and overthrows established leaders.(HN)
20 He deprives trusted advisers of speech
and takes away the elders’ good judgment.
21 He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms[bm] the strong.
22 He reveals mysteries from the darkness
and brings the deepest darkness into the light.(HO)
23 He makes nations great, then destroys them;
he enlarges nations,(HP) then leads them away.
24 He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.(HQ)
25 They grope around in darkness without light;
he makes them stagger like a drunkard.(HR)
13 Look, my eyes have seen all this;
my ears(HS) have heard and understood it.
2 Everything you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.(HT)
3 Yet I prefer to speak to the Almighty
and argue my case before God.(HU)
4 You use lies like plaster;
you are all worthless healers.(HV)
5 If only you would shut up
and let that be your wisdom!
6 Hear now my argument,
and listen to my defense.[bn]
7 Would you testify unjustly on God’s behalf
or speak deceitfully for him?
8 Would you show partiality(HW) to him
or argue the case in his defense?
9 Would it go well if he examined you?
Could you deceive him as you would deceive a man?(HX)
10 Surely he would rebuke you
if you secretly showed partiality.
11 Would God’s majesty not terrify you?(HY)
Would his dread not fall on you?
12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash;(HZ)
your defenses are made of clay.
13 Be quiet,[bo] and I will speak.
Let whatever comes happen to me.
14 I will put[bp] myself at risk[bq]
and take my life in my own hands.
15 Even if he kills me, I will hope in him.[br]
I will still defend(IA) my ways before him.
16 Yes, this will result in my deliverance,
for no godless person(IB) can appear before him.
17 Pay close attention to my words;
let my declaration ring in your ears.
18 Now then, I have prepared my case;(IC)
I know that I am right.
19 Can anyone indict me?
If so, I will be silent and die.
20 Only grant these two things to me, God,
so that I will not have to hide from your presence:
21 remove your hand from me,
and do not let your terror frighten me.(ID)
22 Then call, and I will answer,(IE)
or I will speak, and you can respond to me.
23 How many iniquities(IF) and sins have I committed?[bs]
Reveal to me my transgression and sin.
24 Why do you hide your face
and consider me your enemy?(IG)
25 Will you frighten a wind-driven leaf?
Will you chase after dry straw?
26 For you record bitter accusations against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27 You put my feet in the stocks
and stand watch over all my paths,
setting a limit for the soles[bt] of my feet.
28 A person wears out like something rotten,
like a moth-eaten garment.(IH)
14 Anyone born of woman
is short of days and full of trouble.(II)
2 He blossoms like a flower, then withers;(IJ)
he flees like a shadow and does not last.
3 Do you really take notice of one like this?
Will you bring me into judgment against you?[bu](IK)
4 Who can produce something pure from what is impure?
No one!
5 Since a person’s days are determined
and the number of his months depends on you,
and since you have set[bv] limits he cannot pass,(IL)
6 look away from him and let him rest
so that he can enjoy his day like a hired worker.(IM)
7 There is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its shoots will not die.
8 If its roots grow old in the ground
and its stump starts to die in the soil,
9 the scent of water makes it thrive
and produce twigs like a sapling.(IN)
10 But a person dies and fades away;
he breathes his last—where is he?
11 As water disappears from a lake
and a river becomes parched and dry,
12 so people lie down never to rise again.
They will not wake up until the heavens are no more;(IO)
they will not stir from their sleep.
13 If only you would hide me in Sheol(IP)
and conceal me until your anger(IQ) passes.
If only you would appoint a time for me
and then remember me.
14 When a person dies, will he come back to life?
If so, I would wait(IR) all the days of my struggle(IS)
until my relief comes.
15 You would call, and I would answer you.
You would long for the work of your hands.(IT)
16 For then you would count my steps(IU)
but would not take note(IV) of my sin.
17 My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag,
and you would cover over my iniquity.
18 But as a mountain collapses and crumbles
and a rock is dislodged from its place,
19 as water wears away stones
and torrents wash away the soil from the land,
so you destroy a man’s hope.(IW)
20 You completely overpower him, and he passes on;
you change his appearance and send him away.
21 If his sons receive honor, he does not know it;
if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it.(IX)
22 He feels only the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself.
Second Series of Speeches
Eliphaz Speaks
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Does a wise man answer with empty[bw] counsel(IY)
or fill himself[bx] with the hot east wind?
3 Should he argue(IZ) with useless talk
or with words that serve no good purpose?
4 But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before him.
5 Your iniquity(JA) teaches you what to say,
and you choose the language of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I;
your own lips testify against you.(JB)
7 Were you the first human ever born,
or were you brought forth before the hills?(JC)
8 Do you listen in on the council of God,
or have a monopoly on wisdom?(JD)
9 What do you know that we don’t?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us—
older than your father.
11 Are God’s consolations not enough for you,
even the words that deal gently with you?
12 Why has your heart misled you,
and why do your eyes flash
13 as you turn your anger[by] against God
and allow such words to leave your mouth?
14 What is a mere human, that he should be pure,(JE)
or one born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 If God puts no trust in his holy ones(JF)
and the heavens are not pure in his sight,(JG)
16 how much less one who is revolting and corrupt,(JH)
who drinks injustice(JI) like water?
17 Listen to me and I will inform you.
I will describe what I have seen,
18 what the wise have declared and not concealed,
that came from their ancestors,(JJ)
19 to whom alone the land was given
when no foreigner passed among them.
20 A wicked person writhes in pain all his days,
throughout the number of years reserved for the ruthless.
21 Dreadful sounds fill his ears;
when he is at peace, a robber attacks him.
22 He doesn’t believe he will return from darkness;
he is destined for the sword.(JK)
23 He wanders about for food, asking, “Where is it?”
He knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24 Trouble(JL) and distress terrify him,
overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle.
25 For he has stretched out his hand(JM) against God
and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty.
26 He rushes headlong at him
with his thick, studded shields.
27 Though his face is covered with fat[bz]
and his waistline bulges with it,
28 he will dwell in ruined cities,
in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble.(JN)
29 He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.
His possessions[ca] will not increase in the land.
30 He will not escape from the darkness;
flames will wither his shoots,
and by the breath of God’s mouth, he will depart.(JO)
31 Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray,
for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless.
32 It will be accomplished before his time,
and his branch will not flourish.
33 He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes(JP)
and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.
34 For the company of the godless(JQ) will have no children,
and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes.
35 They conceive trouble(JR) and give birth to evil;
their womb(JS) prepares deception.(JT)
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
16 Then Job answered:
2 I have heard many things like these.
You are all miserable comforters.(JU)
3 Is there no end to your empty[cb](JV) words?
What provokes you that you continue testifying?
4 If you were in my place I could also talk like you.
I could string words together against you
and shake my head at you.
5 Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth,
and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.(JW)
6 If I speak, my suffering is not relieved,
and if I hold back, does any of it leave me?
7 Surely he[cc] has now exhausted me.
You have devastated my entire family.
8 You have shriveled me up[cd]—it has become a witness;
my frailty rises up against me and testifies to my face.
9 His anger tears at me, and he harasses(JX) me.
He gnashes his teeth at me.
My enemy pierces me with his eyes.
10 They open their mouths against me
and strike my cheeks with contempt;(JY)
they join themselves together against me.
11 God hands me over to the unjust;[ce]
he throws me to the wicked.
12 I was at ease, but he shattered me;
he seized me by the scruff of the neck
and smashed me to pieces.
He set me up as his target;(JZ)
13 his archers[cf] surround me.
He pierces my kidneys without mercy
and pours my bile on the ground.
14 He breaks through my defenses again and again;[cg]
he charges at me like a warrior.(KA)
15 I have sewn sackcloth over my skin;
I have buried my strength[ch] in the dust.(KB)
16 My face has grown red with weeping,
and darkness(KC) covers my eyes,
17 although my hands are free from violence(KD)
and my prayer is pure.
18 Earth, do not cover my blood;
may my cry for help find no resting place.(KE)
19 Even now my witness is in heaven,
and my advocate is in the heights!(KF)
20 My friends scoff at me
as I weep before God.
21 I wish that someone might argue for a man with God(KG)
just as anyone[ci] would for a friend.
22 For only a few years will pass
before I go the way of no return.
17 My spirit is broken.
My days are extinguished.
A graveyard(KH) awaits me.
2 Surely mockers surround[cj] me,
and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.(KI)
3 Accept my pledge! Put up security for me.(KJ)
Who else will be my sponsor?[ck]
4 You have closed their minds to understanding,
therefore you will not honor them.
5 If a man denounces his friends for a price,
the eyes of his children will fail.
6 He has made me an object of scorn to the people;
I have become a man people spit at.[cl](KK)
7 My eyes have grown dim from grief,
and my whole body has become but a shadow.
8 The upright are appalled(KL) at this,
and the innocent are roused against the godless.
9 Yet the righteous person will hold to his way,
and the one whose hands are clean(KM) will grow stronger.
10 But come back and try again, all of you.[cm]
I will not find a wise man among you.
11 My days have slipped by;
my plans have been ruined,
even the things dear to my heart.
12 They turned night into day
and made light seem near in the face of darkness.(KN)
13 If I await Sheol as my home,
spread out my bed in darkness,
14 and say to corruption, “You are my father,”
and to the maggot, “My mother” or “My sister,”(KO)
15 where then is my hope?(KP)
Who can see any hope for me?
16 Will it go down to the gates of Sheol,(KQ)
or will we descend together to the dust?
Bildad Speaks
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite(KR) replied:
2 How long until you stop talking?
Show some sense, and then we can talk.
3 Why are we regarded as cattle,
as stupid in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself in anger[cn]—
should the earth be abandoned on your account,
or a rock be removed from its place?
5 Yes, the light(KS) of the wicked(KT) is extinguished;
the flame of his fire does not glow.
6 The light in his tent grows dark,(KU)
and the lamp beside him is put out.
7 His powerful stride is shortened,
and his own schemes trip him up.(KV)
8 For his own feet lead him into a net,
and he strays into its mesh.
9 A trap catches him by the heel;
a noose seizes him.
10 A rope lies hidden for him on the ground,
and a snare waits for him along the path.
11 Terrors frighten him on every side(KW)
and harass him at every step.
12 His strength is depleted;
disaster lies ready for him to stumble.[co]
13 Parts of his skin are eaten away;
death’s firstborn consumes his limbs.
14 He is ripped from the security of his tent
and marched away to the king of terrors.
15 Nothing he owned remains in his tent.
Burning sulfur(KX) is scattered over his home.
16 His roots below dry up,
and his branches above wither away.(KY)
17 All memory(KZ) of him perishes from the earth;
he has no name anywhere.[cp]
18 He is driven from light to darkness
and chased from the inhabited world.
19 He has no children or descendants among his people,
no survivor where he used to live.(LA)
20 Those in the west are appalled(LB) at his fate,
while those in the east tremble in horror.
21 Indeed, such is the dwelling of the unjust man,
and this is the place of the one who does not know God.(LC)
Job’s Reply to Bildad
19 Then Job answered:
2 How long will you torment me
and crush me with words?
3 You have humiliated me ten times now,
and you mistreat[cq] me without shame.(LD)
4 Even if it is true that I have sinned,
my mistake concerns only[cr] me.
5 If you really want to appear superior(LE) to me
and would use my disgrace as evidence against me,
6 then understand that it is God who has wronged me
and caught me in his net.(LF)
7 I cry out, “Violence!” but get no response;(LG)
I call for help, but there is no justice.
8 He has blocked(LH) my way so that I cannot pass through;
he has veiled my paths with darkness.(LI)
9 He has stripped me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He tears me down on every side so that I am ruined.[cs]
He uproots my hope like a tree.(LJ)
11 His anger(LK) burns against me,
and he regards me as one of his enemies.(LL)
12 His troops advance together;
they construct a ramp[ct] against me
and camp(LM) around my tent.
13 He has removed my brothers from me;
my acquaintances have abandoned me.(LN)
14 My relatives stop coming by,
and my close friends have forgotten me.
15 My house guests[cu] and female servants regard me as a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.(LO)
16 I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even if I beg him with my own mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife,
and my own family[cv] finds me repulsive.
18 Even young boys scorn me.
When I stand up, they mock me.(LP)
19 All of my best friends[cw] despise me,(LQ)
and those I love have turned against me.(LR)
20 My skin and my flesh cling to my bones;
I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.
21 Have mercy on me, my friends,(LS) have mercy,
for God’s hand(LT) has struck me.(LU)
22 Why do you persecute me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?
23 I wish that my words were written down,
that they were recorded on a scroll
24 or were inscribed in stone forever
by an iron stylus and lead!
25 But I know that my Redeemer lives,[cx](LV)
and at the end he will stand on the dust.(LW)
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed,[cy]
yet I will see God in[cz] my flesh.(LX)
27 I will see him myself;
my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger.[da]
My heart longs[db] within me.(LY)
28 If you say, “How will we pursue him,
since the root of the problem lies with him?” [dc]
29 then be afraid of the sword,
because wrath brings punishment by the sword,(LZ)
so that you may know there is a judgment.
Zophar Speaks
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite(MA) replied:
2 This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer,
because I am upset![dd]
3 I have heard a rebuke that insults me,
and my understanding[de] makes me reply.(MB)
4 Don’t you know that ever since antiquity,
from the time a human was placed on earth,
5 the joy of the wicked has been brief
and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment?(MC)
6 Though his arrogance reaches heaven,
and his head touches the clouds,(MD)
7 he will vanish forever like his own dung.
Those who know[df] him will ask, “Where is he?” (ME)
8 He will fly away like a dream and never be found;
he will be chased away like a vision in the night.(MF)
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more,(MG)
and his household will no longer see him.(MH)
10 His children will beg from[dg] the poor,
for his own hands must give back his wealth.
11 His frame may be full of youthful vigor,
but it will lie down with him in dust.(MI)
12 Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth
and he conceals it under his tongue,
13 though he cherishes it and will not let it go
but keeps it in his mouth,(MJ)
14 yet the food in his stomach turns
into cobras’ venom inside him.
15 He swallows wealth but must vomit it up;
God will force it from his stomach.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras;
a viper’s fangs[dh] will kill him.(MK)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and curds.(ML)
18 He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it;
he doesn’t enjoy the profits from his trading.
19 For he oppressed and abandoned the poor;
he seized a house he did not build.(MM)
20 Because his appetite is never satisfied,[di]
he does not let anything he desires escape.
21 Nothing is left for him to consume;(MN)
therefore, his prosperity will not last.
22 At the height of his success[dj] distress will come to him;(MO)
the full weight of misery[dk] will crush him.
23 When he fills his stomach,
God will send his burning anger against him,
raining(MP) it down on him while he is eating.[dl]
24 If he flees from an iron weapon,
an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him.
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the flashing tip out of his liver.[dm]
Terrors come over him.(MQ)
26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
A fire unfanned by human hands will consume(MR) him;
it will feed on what is left in his tent.
27 The heavens will expose his iniquity,(MS)
and the earth will rise up against him.(MT)
28 The possessions in his house will be removed,
flowing away on the day of God’s anger.
29 This is the wicked person’s lot(MU) from God,
the inheritance God ordained for him.
Job’s Reply to Zophar
21 Then Job answered:
2 Pay close attention to my words;
let this be the consolation you offer.
3 Bear with me while I speak;
then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.
4 As for me, is my complaint(MV) against a human being?
Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?
5 Look at me and shudder;(MW)
put your hand over your mouth.(MX)
6 When I think about it, I am terrified
and my body trembles(MY) in horror.
7 Why do the wicked continue to live,
growing old and becoming powerful?
8 Their children are established while they are still alive,[dn]
and their descendants, before their eyes.
9 Their homes are secure and free of fear;(MZ)
no rod from God strikes them.(NA)
10 Their bulls breed without fail;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They let their little ones run around like lambs;
their children skip about,
12 singing to the tambourine and lyre
and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.(NB)
13 They spend[do] their days in prosperity(NC)
and go down to Sheol in peace.
14 Yet they say to God, “Leave us alone!
We don’t want to know your ways.(ND)
Footnotes
- 1:5 Lit for the number of
- 1:6 Or the adversary
- 1:21 Lit will return there; Ps 139:13,15
- 1:22 Lit or ascribe blame to God
- 2:10 Lit sin with his lips
- 3:6 LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg; MT reads rejoice
- 3:6 Lit or enter the number of months
- 3:9 Lit the eyelids
- 3:24 Or My sighing serves as my food
- 4:6 Lit ways
- 4:7 Or the upright, or those with integrity
- 4:15 Or a spirit
- 4:18 Or error; Hb obscure
- 5:5 Hb obscure
- 5:5 Aq, Sym, Syr, Vg; MT reads snares
- 5:12 Lit their hands
- 5:15 Lit from the sword of their mouth; Ps 55:21; 59:7
- 5:21 Lit be hidden from the whip of the tongue
- 6:4 Lit Almighty are in
- 6:6 Hb obscure
- 6:10 Lit hidden
- 6:14 Lit To the despairing his friend loyalty
- 6:16 Or turbid
- 6:21 Alt Hb tradition reads So you have now become nothing
- 7:5 Or and dirty scabs
- 7:5 Lit skin hardens
- 7:10 Lit know
- 7:12 Or the sea god
- 7:15 Or suffocation
- 7:15 Lit than my bones
- 7:16 Or are futile
- 7:19 Lit swallow my saliva?
- 7:20 Alt Hb tradition, LXX; MT, Vg read myself
- 8:13 Lit Such are the ways
- 8:14 Or cut off; Hb obscure
- 8:18 Or destroyed
- 8:20 Lit grasp the hand of
- 9:3 Or court, God would not answer him
- 9:8 Or and walks on the back of the sea god
- 9:9 Or Aldebaran
- 9:9 Or chambers
- 9:12 Or dissuade
- 9:19 LXX; MT reads me
- 9:23 Or whip; Hb obscure
- 9:24 Or land
- 9:24 Lit covers the faces of
- 9:25 = a royal messenger
- 10:3 Lit shine on
- 10:13 Lit was with you
- 10:14 Lit notice me
- 10:15 Or and look at
- 10:16 Lit If he lifts up
- 10:17 Or You bring fresh troops
- 10:17 Lit Changes and a host are with me
- 10:19 Lit As if
- 10:20 Alt Hb tradition reads Will he not leave my few days alone?
- 10:22 Lit chaotic, and shines as
- 11:2 Lit a man of lips
- 11:17 Text emended; MT reads noonday; you are dark, you
- 12:3 Lit With whom are not such things as these?
- 12:4 Lit his
- 12:4 Lit him
- 12:6 Or secure; to those who bring their god in their hands
- 12:18 Text emended; MT reads discipline
- 12:21 Lit and loosens the belt of
- 13:6 Lit to the claims of my lips
- 13:13 Lit quiet before me
- 13:14 LXX; MT reads Why do I put
- 13:14 Lit I take my flesh in my teeth
- 13:15 Some Hb mss read I will be without hope
- 13:23 Lit sins are to me
- 13:27 Lit paths. You mark a line around the roots
- 14:3 LXX, Syr, Vg read him
- 14:5 Lit set his
- 15:2 Lit windy; Jb 16:3
- 15:2 Lit his belly
- 15:13 Or spirit
- 15:27 Lit with his fat
- 15:29 Text emended; MT reads Their gain
- 16:3 Lit windy; Jb 15:2
- 16:7 Or it
- 16:8 Or have seized me; Hb obscure
- 16:11 LXX, Vg; MT reads to a boy
- 16:13 Or arrows
- 16:14 Lit through me, breach on breach
- 16:15 Lit horn
- 16:21 Lit a son of man
- 17:2 Lit are with
- 17:3 Or Who is there that will shake hands with me?
- 17:6 Lit become a spitting to the faces
- 17:10 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss read them
- 18:4 Lit He who tears himself in his anger
- 18:12 Or disaster hungers for him
- 18:17 Or name in the streets
- 19:3 Hb obscure
- 19:4 Lit mistake lives with
- 19:10 Lit gone
- 19:12 Lit they raise up their way
- 19:15 Or The resident aliens in my household
- 19:17 Lit and the sons of my belly
- 19:19 Lit of the men of my council
- 19:25 Or know my living Redeemer
- 19:26 Lit skin which they destroyed, or skin they destroyed in this way
- 19:26 Or apart from
- 19:27 Or not a stranger
- 19:27 Lit My kidneys grow faint
- 19:28 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss read me
- 20:2 Lit because of my feeling within me
- 20:3 Lit and a spirit from my understanding
- 20:7 Lit have seen
- 20:10 Or children must compensate
- 20:16 Lit tongue
- 20:20 Lit Because he does not know ease in his stomach
- 20:22 Lit In the fullness of his excess
- 20:22 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss read the hand of everyone in misery
- 20:23 Text emended; MT reads him, against his flesh
- 20:25 Or gallbladder
- 21:8 Lit established before them with them
- 21:13 Alt Hb tradition reads fully enjoy
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