Job 15-16
New American Standard Bible 1995
Eliphaz Says Job Presumes Much
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite [a]responded,
2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
(A)And fill [b]himself with the east wind?
3 “Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which are not profitable?
4 “Indeed, you do away with [c]reverence
And hinder meditation before God.
5 “For (B)your guilt teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of (C)the crafty.
6 “Your (D)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.
7 “Were you the first man to be born,
Or (E)were you brought forth before the hills?
8 “Do you hear the (F)secret counsel of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself?
9 “(G)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that [d]we do not?
10 “Both the (H)gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father.
11 “Are (I)the consolations of God too small for you,
Even the (J)word spoken gently with you?
12 “Why does your (K)heart carry you away?
And why do your eyes flash,
13 That you should turn your spirit against God
And allow such words to go out of your mouth?
14 “What is man, that (L)he should be pure,
Or (M)he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 “Behold, He puts no trust in His (N)holy ones,
And the (O)heavens are not pure in His sight;
16 How much less one who is (P)detestable and corrupt,
Man, who (Q)drinks iniquity like water!
What Eliphaz Has Seen of Life
17 “I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;
18 What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from (R)their fathers,
19 To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them.
20 “The wicked man writhes (S)in pain all his days,
And [e]numbered are the years (T)stored up for the ruthless.
21 “[f]Sounds of (U)terror are in his ears;
(V)While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
22 “He does not believe that he will (W)return from darkness,
And he is destined for (X)the sword.
23 “He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of (Y)darkness is [g]at hand.
24 “Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And conducts himself (Z)arrogantly against [h]the Almighty.
26 “He rushes [i]headlong at Him
With [j]his massive shield.
27 “For he has (AA)covered his face with his fat
And made his thighs heavy with flesh.
28 “He has (AB)lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become [k]ruins.
29 “He (AC)will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not bend down to the ground.
30 “He will (AD)not [l]escape from darkness;
The (AE)flame will wither his shoots,
And by (AF)the breath of His mouth he will go away.
31 “Let him not (AG)trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his [m]reward.
32 “It will be accomplished (AH)before his time,
And his palm (AI)branch will not be green.
33 “He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will (AJ)cast off his flower like the olive tree.
34 “For the company of (AK)the godless is barren,
And fire consumes (AL)the tents of [n]the corrupt.
35 “They (AM)conceive [o]mischief and bring forth iniquity,
And their [p]mind prepares deception.”
Job Says Friends Are Sorry Comforters
16 Then Job [q]answered,
2 “I have heard many such things;
[r](AN)Sorry comforters are you all.
3 “Is there no limit to (AO)windy words?
Or what plagues you that you answer?
4 “I too could speak like you,
If [s]I were in your place.
I could compose words against you
And (AP)shake my head at you.
5 “I could strengthen you with my mouth,
And the solace of my lips could lessen your pain.
Job Says God Shattered Him
6 “If I speak, (AQ)my pain is not lessened,
And if I hold back, what has left me?
7 “But now He has (AR)exhausted me;
You have laid (AS)waste all my company.
8 “You have shriveled me up,
(AT)It has become a witness;
And my (AU)leanness rises up against me,
It testifies to my face.
9 “His anger has (AV)torn me and [t]hunted me down,
He has (AW)gnashed at me with His teeth;
My (AX)adversary [u]glares at me.
10 “They have (AY)gaped at me with their mouth,
They have [v](AZ)slapped me on the cheek with contempt;
They have (BA)massed themselves against me.
11 “God hands me over to ruffians
And tosses me into the hands of the wicked.
12 “I was at ease, but (BB)He shattered me,
And He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His (BC)target.
13 “His (BD)arrows surround me.
Without mercy He splits my kidneys open;
He pours out (BE)my gall on the ground.
14 “He (BF)breaks through me with breach after breach;
He (BG)runs at me like a warrior.
15 “I have sewed (BH)sackcloth over my skin
And (BI)thrust my horn in the dust.
16 “My face is flushed from (BJ)weeping,
(BK)And deep darkness is on my eyelids,
17 Although there is no (BL)violence in my hands,
And (BM)my prayer is pure.
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let there be no resting place for my cry.
19 “Even now, behold, (BN)my witness is in heaven,
And my [w]advocate is (BO)on high.
20 “My friends are my scoffers;
(BP)My eye [x]weeps to God.
21 “O that a man might plead with God
As a man with his neighbor!
22 “For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way (BQ)of no return.
Footnotes
- Job 15:1 Lit answered and said
- Job 15:2 Lit his belly
- Job 15:4 Lit fear
- Job 15:9 Lit is not within us?
- Job 15:20 Lit the number of years are
- Job 15:21 Lit A sound of terrors is
- Job 15:23 Lit ready at his hand
- Job 15:25 Heb Shaddai
- Job 15:26 Lit with a stiff neck
- Job 15:26 Lit the thick-bossed shields
- Job 15:28 Or heaps
- Job 15:30 Lit turn aside
- Job 15:31 Lit exchange
- Job 15:34 Lit a bribe
- Job 15:35 Or pain
- Job 15:35 Lit belly
- Job 16:1 Lit answered and said
- Job 16:2 Lit Comforters of trouble
- Job 16:4 Lit your soul were in place of my soul
- Job 16:9 Lit borne a grudge against me
- Job 16:9 Lit sharpens his eyes
- Job 16:10 Lit struck
- Job 16:19 Or witness
- Job 16:20 Or drips
Psalm 69
New American Standard Bible 1995
A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.
For the choir director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mire, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 O God, it is You who knows (I)my folly,
And (J)my wrongs are not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (K)be ashamed through me, O Lord [e]God of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have borne reproach;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made (R)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (S)a byword to them.
12 Those who (T)sit in the gate talk about me,
And I am the [g](U)song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, (V)at an acceptable time;
O God, in the (W)greatness of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with [h]Your saving truth.
14 Deliver me from the (X)mire and do not let me sink;
May I be (Y)delivered from [i]my foes and from the [j](Z)deep waters.
15 May the [k](AA)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AB)pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for (AC)Your lovingkindness is good;
(AD)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (AE)turn to me,
17 And (AF)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (AG)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and (AH)redeem it;
(AI)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AJ)reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are [l]before You.
20 Reproach has (AK)broken my heart and I am so sick.
And (AL)I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for (AM)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [m](AN)gall [n]for my food
And for my thirst they (AO)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AP)their table before them become a snare;
And [o](AQ)when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AR)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (AS)loins shake continually.
24 (AT)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [p](AU)camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have (AV)persecuted him whom (AW)You Yourself have smitten,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (AX)You have [q]wounded.
27 Add (AY)iniquity to their iniquity,
And (AZ)may they not come into (BA)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BB)blotted out of the (BC)book of life
And may they not be [r](BD)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BE)afflicted and in pain;
[s]May Your salvation, O God, (BF)set me securely on high.
30 I will (BG)praise the name of God with song
And (BH)magnify Him with (BI)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (BJ)please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BK)humble [t]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BL)let your heart [u]revive.
33 For (BM)the Lord hears the needy
And (BN)does not despise His who are prisoners.
34 Let (BO)heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and (BP)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (BQ)save Zion and (BR)build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and (BS)possess it.
36 The [v](BT)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (BU)will dwell in it.
Footnotes
- Psalm 69:1 Or possibly Lilies
- Psalm 69:1 Lit come to the soul
- Psalm 69:2 Lit flowing stream
- Psalm 69:4 Or silence
- Psalm 69:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Psalm 69:8 Lit to
- Psalm 69:12 Lit songs
- Psalm 69:13 Or the faithfulness of Your salvation
- Psalm 69:14 Lit those who hate me
- Psalm 69:14 Lit deep places of water
- Psalm 69:15 Lit stream
- Psalm 69:19 Or known to You
- Psalm 69:21 Or poison
- Psalm 69:21 Or in
- Psalm 69:22 Lit for those who are secure
- Psalm 69:25 Lit encampment
- Psalm 69:26 Lit pierced
- Psalm 69:28 Lit written
- Psalm 69:29 Or Your salvation, O God, will set...
- Psalm 69:32 Some mss and ancient versions read will see
- Psalm 69:32 Or live
- Psalm 69:36 Lit seed
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
