Job 18-19

New Century Version

² “When will you stop these speeches?
    Be sensible, and then we can talk.
³ You think of us as cattle,
    as if we are stupid.
⁴ You tear yourself to pieces in your anger.
    Should the earth be vacant just for you?
    Should the rocks move from their places?

⁵ “The lamp of the wicked will be put out,
    and the flame in their lamps will stop burning.
⁶ The light in their tents will grow dark,
    and the lamps by their sides will go out.
⁷ Their strong steps will grow weak;
    they will fall into their own evil traps.
⁸ Their feet will be caught in a net
    when they walk into its web.
⁹ A trap will catch them by the heel
    and hold them tight.
¹⁰ A trap for them is hidden on the ground,
    right in their path.
¹¹ Terrible things startle them from every side
    and chase them at every step.
¹² Hunger takes away their strength,
    and disaster is at their side.
¹³ Disease eats away parts of their skin;
    death gnaws at their arms and legs.
¹⁴ They are torn from the safety of their tents
    and dragged off to Death, the King of Terrors.
¹⁵ Their tents are set on fire,
    and sulfur is scattered over their homes.
¹⁶ Their roots dry up below ground,
    and their branches die above ground.
¹⁷ People on earth will not remember them;
    their names will be forgotten in the land.
¹⁸ They will be driven from light into darkness
    and chased out of the world.
¹⁹ They have no children or descendants among their people,
    and no one will be left alive where they once lived.
²⁰ People of the west will be shocked at what has happened to them,
    and people of the east will be very frightened.
²¹ Surely this is what will happen to the wicked;
    such is the place of one who does not know God.”

² “How long will you hurt me
    and crush me with your words?
³ You have insulted me ten times now
    and attacked me without shame.
⁴ Even if I have sinned,
    it is my worry alone.
⁵ If you want to make yourselves look better than I,
    you can blame me for my suffering.
⁶ Then know that God has wronged me
    and pulled his net around me.

⁷ “I shout, ‘I have been wronged!’
    But I get no answer.
I scream for help
    but I get no justice.
⁸ God has blocked my way so I cannot pass;
    he has covered my paths with darkness.
⁹ He has taken away my honor
    and removed the crown from my head.
¹⁰ He beats me down on every side until I am gone;
    he destroys my hope like a fallen tree.
¹¹ His anger burns against me,
    and he treats me like an enemy.
¹² His armies gather;
    they prepare to attack me.
    They camp around my tent.

¹³ “God has made my brothers my enemies,
    and my friends have become strangers.
¹⁴ My relatives have gone away,
    and my friends have forgotten me.
¹⁵ My guests and my female servants treat me like a stranger;
    they look at me as if I were a foreigner.
¹⁶ I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
    even when I beg him with my own mouth.
¹⁷ My wife can’t stand my breath,
    and my own family dislikes me.
¹⁸ Even the little boys hate me
    and talk about me when I leave.
¹⁹ All my close friends hate me;
    even those I love have turned against me.
²⁰ I am nothing but skin and bones;
    I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
²¹ Pity me, my friends, pity me,
    because the hand of God has hit me.
²² Why do you chase me as God does?
    Haven’t you hurt me enough?

²³ “How I wish my words were written down,
    written on a scroll.
²⁴ I wish they were carved with an iron pen into lead,
    or carved into stone forever.
²⁵ I know that my Defender lives,
    and in the end he will stand upon the earth.
²⁶ Even after my skin has been destroyed,
    in my flesh I will see God.
²⁷ I will see him myself;
    I will see him with my very own eyes.
    How my heart wants that to happen!

²⁸ “If you say, ‘We will continue to trouble Job,
    because the problem lies with him,’
²⁹ you should be afraid of the sword yourselves.
    God’s anger will bring punishment by the sword.
    Then you will know there is judgment.”