Job Says He Has Become a Proverb

17 “My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished,
The [a](A)grave is ready for me.
(B)Mockers are certainly with me,
And my eye [b]gazes on their provocation.

“Make a pledge (C)for me with Yourself;
Who is there that will [c]be my guarantor?
For You have [d](D)kept their hearts away from understanding;
Therefore You will not exalt them.
He who (E)informs against friends for a share of the spoils,
The (F)eyes of his children also will perish.

“But He has made me a (G)proverb among the people,
And I am [e]one at whom people (H)spit.
My eye has also become (I)inexpressive because of grief,
And all my (J)body parts are like a shadow.
The upright will be appalled at this,
And the (K)innocent will stir himself up against the godless.
Nevertheless (L)the righteous will hold to his way,
And (M)the one who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.
10 But come again all of [f]you now,
For I (N)do not find a wise man among you.
11 My (O)days are past, my plans are torn apart,
The wishes of my heart.
12 They make night into day, saying,
‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.
13 If I hope for [g](P)Sheol as my home,
I [h]make my bed in the darkness;
14 If I call to the (Q)grave, ‘You are my father’;
To the (R)maggot, ‘my mother and my sister’;
15 Where then is (S)my hope?
And who looks at my hope?
16 [i]Will it go down with me to Sheol?
Shall we together (T)go down into the dust?”

Bildad Speaks of the Wicked

18 Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

“How long will you hunt for words?
Show understanding, and then we can talk.
Why are we (U)regarded as animals,
As stupid in your eyes?
[j]You who tear yourself in your anger—
Should the earth be abandoned for your sake,
Or the rock moved from its place?

“Indeed, the (V)light of the wicked goes out,
And the spark from his fire does not shine.
The light in his tent is (W)darkened,
And his lamp goes out above him.
His [k]vigorous stride is shortened,
And his (X)own plan brings him down.
For he is (Y)thrown into the net by his own feet,
And he steps on the webbing.
A snare seizes him by the heel,
And a trap snaps shut on him.
10 A noose for him is hidden in the ground,
And a trap for him on the pathway.
11 All around (Z)sudden terrors frighten him,
And (AA)harass him at every step.
12 His strength is (AB)famished,
And disaster is ready at his side.
13 [l]It devours parts of his skin,
The firstborn of death (AC)devours his [m]limbs.
14 He is (AD)torn from [n]the security of his tent,
And [o]they march him before the king of (AE)terrors.
15 [p]Nothing of his dwells in his tent;
(AF)Brimstone is scattered on his home.
16 His (AG)roots are dried below,
And his (AH)branch withers above.
17 (AI)The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name abroad.
18 [q]He is driven from light (AJ)into darkness,
And (AK)chased from the inhabited world.
19 He has no (AL)offspring or descendants among his people,
Nor any survivor where he resided.
20 Those in the west are appalled at (AM)his [r]fate,
And those in the east are seized with horror.
21 Certainly these are the (AN)dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

Job Feels Insulted

19 Then Job responded,

“How long will you torment [s]me
And crush me with words?
These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me.
Even if I have truly done wrong,
My error stays with me.
If indeed you (AO)exalt yourselves against me
And prove my disgrace to me,
Know then that (AP)God has wronged me
And has surrounded me with (AQ)His net.

Everything Is Against Him

“Behold, (AR)I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.
He has (AS)blocked my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has put (AT)darkness on my paths.
He has (AU)stripped my honor from me
And removed the (AV)crown from my head.
10 He (AW)breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
And He has uprooted my (AX)hope (AY)like a tree.
11 He has also (AZ)kindled His anger against me
And (BA)considered me as His enemy.
12 His (BB)troops come together
And (BC)build up their [t]way against me
And camp around my tent.

13 “He has (BD)removed my brothers far from me,
And my (BE)acquaintances have completely turned away from me.
14 My relatives have failed,
And my (BF)close friends have forgotten me.
15 Those who live in my house and my servant women consider me a stranger.
I am a foreigner in their sight.
16 I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore his favor with my mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
18 Even young children despise me;
I stand up and they speak against me.
19 All [u]my (BG)associates loathe me,
And those I love have turned against me.
20 My (BH)bone clings to my skin and my flesh,
And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
21 Pity me, pity me, you friends of mine,
For the (BI)hand of God has struck me.
22 Why do you (BJ)persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?

Job Says My Redeemer Lives

23 “Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were (BK)recorded in a book!
24 That with an iron stylus and lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!
25 Yet as for me, I know that (BL)my Redeemer lives,
And at the last, He will take His stand on the [v]earth.
26 Even after my skin [w]is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I will (BM)see God,
27 Whom I, on my part, shall behold for myself,
And whom my eyes will see, and not another.
My [x]heart (BN)faints [y]within me!
28 If you say, ‘How shall we (BO)persecute him?’
And ‘[z]What pretext for a case against him can we find?’
29 Then be afraid of (BP)the sword for yourselves,
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
So that you may know (BQ)there is judgment.”

Zophar Says the Rejoicing of the Wicked Is Short

20 Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,

“Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me [aa]respond,
Even because of my [ab]inward agitation.
I listened to (BR)the reprimand which insults me,
And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.
Do you know this from (BS)ancient times,
From the establishment of mankind on earth,
That the (BT)rejoicing of the wicked is short,
And (BU)the joy of the godless momentary?
Though his arrogance [ac](BV)reaches the heavens,
And his head touches the clouds,
He (BW)perishes forever like his refuse;
Those who have seen him (BX)will say, ‘Where is he?’
He flies away like a (BY)dream, and they cannot find him;
Like a vision of the night he is (BZ)chased away.
The (CA)eye which saw him sees him no longer,
And (CB)his place no longer beholds him.
10 His (CC)sons [ad]favor the poor,
And his hands (CD)give back his wealth.
11 His (CE)bones are full of his youthful strength,
But it lies down with him [ae]in the dust.

12 “Though (CF)evil tastes sweet in his mouth
And he hides it under his tongue,
13 Though he [af]desires it and will not let it go,
But holds it (CG)in his [ag]mouth,
14 Yet his food in his stomach is changed
To the [ah]venom of cobras within him.
15 He swallows riches,
But will (CH)vomit them up;
God will expel them from his belly.
16 He sucks (CI)the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue kills him.
17 He does not look at (CJ)the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and curds.
18 He (CK)returns the product of his labor
And cannot swallow it;
As to the riches of his trading,
He cannot even enjoy them.
19 For he has (CL)oppressed and neglected the poor;
He has seized a house which he has not built.

20 “Because he knew no quiet [ai]within him,
He does (CM)not retain anything he desires.
21 Nothing remains [aj]for him to devour,
Therefore (CN)his prosperity does not endure.
22 In the fullness of his excess he will be cramped;
The (CO)hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.
23 When he (CP)fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And (CQ)rain it on him [ak]while he is eating.
24 He may (CR)flee from the iron weapon,
But the bronze bow will pierce him.
25 It is drawn and comes out of his back,
Even the flashing point from (CS)his gallbladder;
(CT)Terrors come upon him,
26 Complete (CU)darkness is held in reserve for his treasures,
And unfanned (CV)fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.
27 The (CW)heavens will reveal his guilt,
And the earth will rise up against him.
28 The (CX)increase of his house will disappear;
His possessions will flow away (CY)on the day of His anger.
29 This is a wicked person’s (CZ)portion from God,
The inheritance decreed to him by God.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 17:1 Lit graves are
  2. Job 17:2 Lit dwells
  3. Job 17:3 Lit strike hands with me
  4. Job 17:4 Lit hidden
  5. Job 17:6 Lit a spitting to the faces
  6. Job 17:10 As in some mss and ancient versions; MT them
  7. Job 17:13 I.e., the netherworld
  8. Job 17:13 Lit spread out
  9. Job 17:16 As in LXX; Heb possibly Let my limbs sink down to Sheol, since there is rest in the dust for all.
  10. Job 18:4 Lit The one who tears himself in his
  11. Job 18:7 Lit steps of his strength
  12. Job 18:13 Another reading is His skin is devoured by illness
  13. Job 18:13 Or parts
  14. Job 18:14 Lit his tent his trust
  15. Job 18:14 Lit you march or she marches
  16. Job 18:15 Another reading is Fire dwells in his tent
  17. Job 18:18 Lit They drive him...And chase him
  18. Job 18:20 Lit day
  19. Job 19:2 Lit my soul
  20. Job 19:12 I.e., siege ramp
  21. Job 19:19 Lit the men of my council
  22. Job 19:25 Lit dust
  23. Job 19:26 Lit which they have cut off
  24. Job 19:27 Lit kidneys
  25. Job 19:27 Lit in my loins
  26. Job 19:28 Or the root of the matter is found in him
  27. Job 20:2 Lit return
  28. Job 20:2 Lit haste within me
  29. Job 20:6 Lit goes up to
  30. Job 20:10 Or seek the favor of
  31. Job 20:11 Lit on
  32. Job 20:13 Lit spares it
  33. Job 20:13 Lit palate
  34. Job 20:14 Lit gall
  35. Job 20:20 Lit in his belly
  36. Job 20:21 Or of what he devours
  37. Job 20:23 Or as his food

Job Continues to Defend His Innocence

17 “My spirit is crushed,
    and my life is nearly snuffed out.
    The grave is ready to receive me.
I am surrounded by mockers.
    I watch how bitterly they taunt me.

“You must defend my innocence, O God,
    since no one else will stand up for me.
You have closed their minds to understanding,
    but do not let them triumph.
They betray their friends for their own advantage,
    so let their children faint with hunger.

“God has made a mockery of me among the people;
    they spit in my face.
My eyes are swollen with weeping,
    and I am but a shadow of my former self.
The virtuous are horrified when they see me.
    The innocent rise up against the ungodly.
The righteous keep moving forward,
    and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.

10 “As for all of you, come back with a better argument,
    though I still won’t find a wise man among you.
11 My days are over.
    My hopes have disappeared.
    My heart’s desires are broken.
12 These men say that night is day;
    they claim that the darkness is light.
13 What if I go to the grave[a]
    and make my bed in darkness?
14 What if I call the grave my father,
    and the maggot my mother or my sister?
15 Where then is my hope?
    Can anyone find it?
16 No, my hope will go down with me to the grave.
    We will rest together in the dust!”

Bildad’s Second Response to Job

18 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

“How long before you stop talking?
    Speak sense if you want us to answer!
Do you think we are mere animals?
    Do you think we are stupid?
You may tear out your hair in anger,
    but will that destroy the earth?
    Will it make the rocks tremble?

“Surely the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.
    The sparks of their fire will not glow.
The light in their tent will grow dark.
    The lamp hanging above them will be quenched.
The confident stride of the wicked will be shortened.
    Their own schemes will be their downfall.
The wicked walk into a net.
    They fall into a pit.
A trap grabs them by the heel.
    A snare holds them tight.
10 A noose lies hidden on the ground.
    A rope is stretched across their path.

11 “Terrors surround the wicked
    and trouble them at every step.
12 Hunger depletes their strength,
    and calamity waits for them to stumble.
13 Disease eats their skin;
    death devours their limbs.
14 They are torn from the security of their homes
    and are brought down to the king of terrors.
15 The homes of the wicked will burn down;
    burning sulfur rains on their houses.
16 Their roots will dry up,
    and their branches will wither.
17 All memory of their existence will fade from the earth;
    no one will remember their names.
18 They will be thrust from light into darkness,
    driven from the world.
19 They will have neither children nor grandchildren,
    nor any survivor in the place where they lived.
20 People in the west are appalled at their fate;
    people in the east are horrified.
21 They will say, ‘This was the home of a wicked person,
    the place of one who rejected God.’”

Job’s Sixth Speech: A Response to Bildad

19 Then Job spoke again:

“How long will you torture me?
    How long will you try to crush me with your words?
You have already insulted me ten times.
    You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.
Even if I have sinned,
    that is my concern, not yours.
You think you’re better than I am,
    using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.
But it is God who has wronged me,
    capturing me in his net.[b]

“I cry out, ‘Help!’ but no one answers me.
    I protest, but there is no justice.
God has blocked my way so I cannot move.
    He has plunged my path into darkness.
He has stripped me of my honor
    and removed the crown from my head.
10 He has demolished me on every side, and I am finished.
    He has uprooted my hope like a fallen tree.
11 His fury burns against me;
    he counts me as an enemy.
12 His troops advance.
    They build up roads to attack me.
    They camp all around my tent.

13 “My relatives stay far away,
    and my friends have turned against me.
14 My family is gone,
    and my close friends have forgotten me.
15 My servants and maids consider me a stranger.
    I am like a foreigner to them.
16 When I call my servant, he doesn’t come;
    I have to plead with him!
17 My breath is repulsive to my wife.
    I am rejected by my own family.
18 Even young children despise me.
    When I stand to speak, they turn their backs on me.
19 My close friends detest me.
    Those I loved have turned against me.
20 I have been reduced to skin and bones
    and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.

21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
    Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
    engraved forever in the rock.

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God![c]
27 I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

28 “How dare you go on persecuting me,
    saying, ‘It’s his own fault’?
29 You should fear punishment yourselves,
    for your attitude deserves punishment.
    Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”

Zophar’s Second Response to Job

20 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

“I must reply
    because I am greatly disturbed.
I’ve had to endure your insults,
    but now my spirit prompts me to reply.

“Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time,
    ever since people were first placed on the earth,
the triumph of the wicked has been short lived
    and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?
Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens
    and their heads touch the clouds,
yet they will vanish forever,
    thrown away like their own dung.
Those who knew them will ask,
    ‘Where are they?’
They will fade like a dream and not be found.
    They will vanish like a vision in the night.
Those who once saw them will see them no more.
    Their families will never see them again.
10 Their children will beg from the poor,
    for they must give back their stolen riches.
11 Though they are young,
    their bones will lie in the dust.

12 “They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness,
    letting it melt under their tongue.
13 They savored it,
    holding it long in their mouths.
14 But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour,
    a poisonous venom in their stomach.
15 They will vomit the wealth they swallowed.
    God won’t let them keep it down.
16 They will suck the poison of cobras.
    The viper will kill them.
17 They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil
    or rivers of milk and honey.
18 They will give back everything they worked for.
    Their wealth will bring them no joy.
19 For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute.
    They foreclosed on their homes.
20 They were always greedy and never satisfied.
    Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.
21 Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves.
    Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.

22 “In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble
    and be overcome by misery.
23 May God give them a bellyful of trouble.
    May God rain down his anger upon them.
24 When they try to escape an iron weapon,
    a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.
25 The arrow is pulled from their back,
    and the arrowhead glistens with blood.[d]
The terrors of death are upon them.
26     Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness.
A wildfire will devour their goods,
    consuming all they have left.
27 The heavens will reveal their guilt,
    and the earth will testify against them.
28 A flood will sweep away their house.
    God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.
29 This is the reward that God gives the wicked.
    It is the inheritance decreed by God.”

Footnotes

  1. 17:13 Hebrew to Sheol; also in 17:16.
  2. 19:6 Or for I am like a city under siege.
  3. 19:26 Or without my body I will see God. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  4. 20:25 Hebrew with gall.