Job 10-11

English Standard Version

Job Continues: A Plea to God

10 “I ^(A)loathe my life;
I will give free utterance to my ^(B)complaint;
    I will speak in ^(C)the bitterness of my soul.
²I will say to God, Do not ^(D)condemn me;
    let me know why you ^(E)contend against me.
³^(F)Does it seem good to you to oppress,
    to despise ^(G)the work of your hands
    ^(H)and favor the designs of the wicked?
⁴Have you ^(I)eyes of flesh?
    ^(J)Do you see as man sees?
⁵Are your days as the days of man,
    or your ^(K)years as a man's years,
⁶that you ^(L)seek out my iniquity
    and search for my sin,
⁷although you ^(M)know that I am not guilty,
    and there is ^(N)none to deliver out of your hand?
⁸^(O)Your hands fashioned and made me,
    and now you have destroyed me altogether.
⁹Remember that you have made me like ^(P)clay;
    and will you return me to the ^(Q)dust?
¹⁰Did you not pour me out like milk
    and curdle me like cheese?
¹¹You clothed me with skin and flesh,
    and knit me together with bones and sinews.
¹²You have granted me life and steadfast love,
    and your care has preserved my spirit.
¹³Yet these things you hid in your heart;
    I know that ^(R)this was your purpose.
¹⁴If I sin, you ^(S)watch me
    and do not ^(T)acquit me of my iniquity.
¹⁵^(U)If I am guilty, woe to me!
    If I am ^(V)in the right, I cannot lift up my head,
for I am filled with disgrace
    and ^(W)look on my affliction.
¹⁶And were my head lifted up,^[a] you would hunt me like ^(X)a lion
    and again work ^(Y)wonders against me.
¹⁷You renew your ^(Z)witnesses against me
    and increase your vexation toward me;
    you ^(AA)bring fresh troops against me.

¹⁸^(AB)“Why did you bring me out from the womb?
    Would that I had died before any eye had seen me
¹⁹^(AC)and were as though I had not been,
    carried from the womb to the grave.
²⁰^(AD)Are not my days few?
    ^(AE)Then cease, and leave me alone, ^(AF)that I may find a little cheer
²¹before I go—and ^(AG)I shall not return—
    to the land of ^(AH)darkness and ^(AI)deep shadow,
²²the land of gloom like thick darkness,
    like deep shadow without any order,
    where light is as thick darkness.”

Zophar Speaks: You Deserve Worse

11 Then ^(AJ)Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

²“Should ^(AK)a multitude of words go unanswered,
    and a man full of talk be judged right?
³Should your babble silence men,
    and when you mock, shall no one shame you?
⁴For ^(AL)you say, ‘My ^(AM)doctrine is pure,
    and I am clean in God's^[b] eyes.’
⁵But oh, that God would speak
    and open his lips to you,
⁶and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
    For he is manifold in ^(AN)understanding.^[c]
Know then that God ^(AO)exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

⁷^(AP)“Can you find out the deep things of God?
    Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
⁸It is ^(AQ)higher than heaven^[d]—what can you do?
    Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
⁹Its measure is longer than the earth
    and broader than the sea.
¹⁰If he ^(AR)passes through and ^(AS)imprisons
    and summons the court, who can ^(AT)turn him back?
¹¹For he knows ^(AU)worthless men;
    when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?
¹²But a stupid man will get understanding
    when ^(AV)a wild donkey's colt is ^(AW)born a man!

¹³“If you ^(AX)prepare your heart,
    you will ^(AY)stretch out your hands toward him.
¹⁴If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
    and let not injustice dwell in your tents.
¹⁵Surely then you will ^(AZ)lift up your face without ^(BA)blemish;
    you will be secure and will not fear.
¹⁶You will ^(BB)forget your misery;
    you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
¹⁷And your life will be ^(BC)brighter than the noonday;
    its darkness will be like the morning.
¹⁸And you will feel secure, because there is hope;
    you will look around and ^(BD)take your rest in security.
¹⁹You will ^(BE)lie down, and none will make you afraid;
    many will ^(BF)court your favor.
²⁰But ^(BG)the eyes of the wicked will fail;
    all way of escape will be lost to them,
    and their hope is ^(BH)to breathe their last.”