Job 12-14
New Catholic Bible
Job’s Third Response[a]
Chapter 12
Wisdom Will Die with You.[b] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “Undoubtedly, you are the voice of the people,
and when you die, wisdom will die with you.
3 But I also have intelligence;
I am not inferior to you in this regard.
Who is ignorant of all these things?
4 [c]“I have become a laughingstock to my friends,
I whom God would answer when I called upon him;
although I am innocent and just, he afflicted me.
5 Those who live untroubled lives scorn the misfortunes of others,
the blows that strike those who are already staggering.
6 Yet the tents of robbers remain undisturbed,
and those who provoke God sleep securely
as well as those who make a god of their strength.[d]
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
ask the birds of the air, and they will inform you.
8 Ask the reptiles on earth, and they will instruct you,
or let the fish of the sea enlighten you.
9 Which of all these is unaware
that the hand of God has done this?
10 “In God’s hand is the soul of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
11 Does not the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom is found in the aged,
and long life nourishes understanding.
With God Are Wisdom and Power
13 “With God are wisdom and power;
wise counsel and understanding are his.
14 If he tears down, no one can rebuild;
anyone he imprisons cannot gain freedom.
15 If he holds back the waters, drought ensues;
if he releases them, the land is overwhelmed.
16 Strength and wisdom are his;
his too are the deceived and the deceivers.
17 “He deprives counselors of their wits
and makes fools of judges.
18 He looses the sashes of kings
and gives them only a waistcloth to cover their loins.[e]
19 He forces priests to walk barefoot
and overthrows those in positions of power.
20 He silences the lips of trusted counselors
and deprives the aged of their power of discernment.
21 “He pours contempt on princes
and disarms the powerful.
22 He unveils mysteries long obscured in darkness
and brings their meaning to light.
23 He makes nations great and then destroys them;
he enlarges nations and then reduces them to nothing.
24 He weakens the minds of the leaders of the earth
and leaves them to wander in a trackless waste.
25 They grope their way in the darkness without light,
staggering like drunken men.
Chapter 13
Be Silent—I Want To Question God[f]
1 “All this I have observed with my own eyes;
my ears have heard and understood it.
2 What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you in any way.
3 But I only wish to speak with the Almighty
and to argue my case with God.
4 As for you, you are obscuring the truth with lies,
and the solutions you offer are all worthless.
5 “Oh, if only you would be completely silent!
For you, that would be regarded as wisdom.
6 Hear now my reasoning
and listen to the plea that issues from my lips.
7 Is it on God’s behalf that you utter lies?
Is it in his defense that you speak deceitfully?
8 Will you show partiality for him
as you plead his case?
9 “Will you feel totally comfortable when he examines you?
Will you be able to deceive him as you deceive men?
10 If you show partiality, even though not flagrant,
he will surely rebuke you.
11 Will not his majesty frighten you
and the fear of him overcome you?
12 The ideas you propose are proverbs of ash;
your arguments are defenses of clay.
13 “Be silent so that I may speak on my own behalf.
Then let what may come upon me.
14 I am taking my life in my own hands
and placing myself in jeopardy.
15 Perhaps he may slay me, but I have no other hope
than to defend my conduct before him.
16 This will prove to be my salvation,
for the godless will not dare to come before him.
I Am Certain That I Will Be Vindicated[g]
17 “Therefore, listen carefully to my words
and give my defense a careful hearing.
18 I have prepared my case carefully,
and I am certain that I will be vindicated.
19 If anyone can make a valid case against me,
then I will be silent and die.
20 “Only grant me two things, O God,
and then I will not hide myself from your face:
21 just withdraw your hand far from me,
and stop frightening me with your terrors.
22 Then summon me, and I will answer,
or let me speak first, and then you can reply.
23 “Of how many crimes and sins am I guilty?
Make known to me my faults and my transgressions.
24 Why do you hide your face[h]
and look upon me as your enemy?
25 Will you harass a wind-blown leaf
and chase after dry chaff?
26 “For you have drawn up bitter charges against me
and caused me to suffer for the iniquities of my youth,
27 putting my feet in the stocks
and keeping a close watch on every step I take
as you trace all my footprints.
28 Thus, I waste away like rotting wood
or like a moth-eaten garment.
Chapter 14
Everyone Born of Woman . . .[i]
1 “Everyone born of woman
has life that is short and filled with troubles.
2 He blossoms like a flower and soon begins to wither;
as fleeting as a shadow, he does not endure.
3 Is it upon a creature like this that you fix your gaze
and bring him before you to be judged?
4 “Can a man be found who has avoided defilement?
There is no such person.
5 The extent of his life has already been determined,
and the number of his months is known to you;
you have established the limits that he cannot pass.
6 Turn your gaze away from him and leave him alone
so that, like a hired laborer, he may complete his days.
7 “At least for a tree there is always hope:
if it is cut down, it may sprout once again,
and its new shoots may burst with life.
8 Although its roots age in the earth
and its stump dies in the ground,
9 once it scents water it will begin to bud
and put forth branches like a sapling.
10 “But when a man dies, he remains lifeless;
what is his fate once he expires?
11 As occurs when the waters of a lake recede
or a river ceases to flow and runs dry,
12 so men lie down and never rise again;
until the heavens cease to exist, they will not awaken
or be stirred out of their slumber.
Hide Me in the Netherworld[j]
13 “How I wish you would hide me in the netherworld
and shelter me until your wrath has subsided
while designating a time to call me to mind.
14 If one who dies were permitted to live once again,
I would willingly endure all the days of my service
waiting for my relief to arrive.
15 You would call and I would answer you;
you would long to see once again the creature you have made.
16 You would count my every step
but not watch for any evidence of sin in me.
17 You would store up all my transgressions in a bag,
and you would cover over my guilt.
18 “But as a mountain eventually falls
and a rock is removed from its place,
19 as the waters wear away the stones
and cloudbursts wash away the soil,
so you destroy the hope of man.
20 You crush him once for all and he disappears;
you alter his appearance and send him away.
21 If his sons are honored, he is unaware of it;
if they are disgraced, he does not know it.
22 He is cognizant only of the pains his flesh endures,
and he grieves for no one except himself.”
Footnotes
- Job 12:1 Turning his back on his friends, Job addresses his God directly and boldly asks him to justify his conduct.
- Job 12:1 Job observes a disturbing contrast between the misfortune of the righteous and the tranquility of robbers. The whole of creation is a witness of this drama.
- Job 12:4 The righteous who are afflicted even have to suffer the scorn of the impious: see Ps 22:7-22; Mt 27:39-43.
- Job 12:6 As well as those who make a god of their strength: the Hebrew is obscure. Other translations given are: “As well as those who bring their god in their hands,” or “In what God provides by his hand.”
- Job 12:18 The probable meaning of the second half of the verse is that God at times reduces kings to slavery.
- Job 13:1 Job believes that his friends are charlatans, incapable of finding a remedy for his sufferings. Job will do battle alone with God.
- Job 13:17 Before beginning his legal case against God, Job asks for a decrease in his distress and more freedom for his defense.
- Job 13:24 Hide your face: a Semitic expression signifying that God is irritated (Ps 27:9) or indifferent (Pss 30:8; 104:28f), with consequent misfortune for human beings.
- Job 14:1 Thoroughly unclean, humans cannot attain true purity, i.e., moral perfection. This wretchedness is precisely their excuse before God. And if the universe can be shaken and then renewed, for humans there is no revival; they remain buried in death forever. Survival in the subterranean netherworld is nothing more than a diminished existence. Human beings thus hasten toward their end without hope. What reason is there for God to pursue them?
- Job 14:13 An astounding proposition is put forth: Job desires to descend to the netherworld as in a provisional hiding place or refuge (Ps 139:7-12; Isa 26:20) to escape the divine wrath and wait there for the Lord to remember the creature [he has] made and grant him forgiveness. Job dreams of immortality and suffers because he no longer enjoys the friendship of his God.
