Job 20:16-31:3

New International Version

¹⁶ He will suck the poison^(A) of serpents;
    the fangs of an adder will kill him.^(B)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
    the rivers^(C) flowing with honey^(D) and cream.^(E)
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;^(F)
    he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.^(G)
19 For he has oppressed the poor^(H) and left them destitute;^(I)
    he has seized houses^(J) he did not build.

²⁰ “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;^(K)
    he cannot save himself by his treasure.^(L)
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
    his prosperity will not endure.^(M)
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;^(N)
    the full force of misery will come upon him.^(O)
23 When he has filled his belly,^(P)
    God will vent his burning anger^(Q) against him
    and rain down his blows on him.^(R)
24 Though he flees^(S) from an iron weapon,
    a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.^(T)
25 He pulls it out of his back,
    the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors^(U) will come over him;^(V)
26     total darkness^(W) lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire^(X) unfanned will consume him^(Y)
    and devour what is left in his tent.^(Z)
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
    the earth will rise up against him.^(AA)
28 A flood will carry off his house,^(AB)
    rushing waters^[a] on the day of God’s wrath.^(AC)
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
    the heritage appointed for them by God.”^(AD)

² “Listen carefully to my words;^(AE)
    let this be the consolation you give me.^(AF)
3 Bear with me while I speak,
    and after I have spoken, mock on.^(AG)

⁴ “Is my complaint^(AH) directed to a human being?
    Why should I not be impatient?^(AI)
5 Look at me and be appalled;
    clap your hand over your mouth.^(AJ)
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;^(AK)
    trembling seizes my body.^(AL)
7 Why do the wicked live on,
    growing old and increasing in power?^(AM)
8 They see their children established around them,
    their offspring before their eyes.^(AN)
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;^(AO)
    the rod of God is not on them.^(AP)
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
    their cows calve and do not miscarry.^(AQ)
11 They send forth their children as a flock;^(AR)
    their little ones dance about.
¹² They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;^(AS)
    they make merry to the sound of the pipe.^(AT)
13 They spend their years in prosperity^(AU)
    and go down to the grave^(AV) in peace.^[b](AW)
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!^(AX)
    We have no desire to know your ways.^(AY)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    What would we gain by praying to him?’^(AZ)
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.^(BA)

¹⁷ “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?^(BB)
    How often does calamity^(BC) come upon them,
    the fate God allots in his anger?^(BD)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
    like chaff^(BE) swept away^(BF) by a gale?^(BG)
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’^(BH)
    Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!^(BI)
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;^(BJ)
    let them drink^(BK) the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.^(BL)
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind^(BM)
    when their allotted months^(BN) come to an end?^(BO)

²² “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,^(BP)
    since he judges even the highest?^(BQ)
23 One person dies in full vigor,^(BR)
    completely secure and at ease,^(BS)
24 well nourished^(BT) in body,^[c]
    bones^(BU) rich with marrow.^(BV)
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,^(BW)
    never having enjoyed anything good.
²⁶ Side by side they lie in the dust,^(BX)
    and worms^(BY) cover them both.^(BZ)

²⁷ “I know full well what you are thinking,
    the schemes by which you would wrong me.
²⁸ You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,^(CA)
    the tents where the wicked lived?’^(CB)
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
    Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
³⁰ that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,^(CC)
    that they are delivered from^[d] the day of wrath?^(CD)
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
    Who repays them for what they have done?^(CE)
32 They are carried to the grave,
    and watch is kept over their tombs.^(CF)
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;^(CG)
    everyone follows after them,
    and a countless throng goes^[e] before them.^(CH)

³⁴ “So how can you console me^(CI) with your nonsense?
    Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”^(CJ)

² “Can a man be of benefit to God?^(CL)
    Can even a wise person benefit him?^(CM)
3 What pleasure^(CN) would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?^(CO)
    What would he gain if your ways were blameless?^(CP)

⁴ “Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
    and brings charges against you?^(CQ)
5 Is not your wickedness great?
    Are not your sins^(CR) endless?^(CS)
6 You demanded security^(CT) from your relatives for no reason;^(CU)
    you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.^(CV)
7 You gave no water^(CW) to the weary
    and you withheld food from the hungry,^(CX)
8 though you were a powerful man, owning land^(CY)—
    an honored man,^(CZ) living on it.^(DA)
9 And you sent widows^(DB) away empty-handed^(DC)
    and broke the strength of the fatherless.^(DD)
10 That is why snares^(DE) are all around you,^(DF)
    why sudden peril terrifies you,^(DG)
11 why it is so dark^(DH) you cannot see,
    and why a flood of water covers you.^(DI)

¹² “Is not God in the heights of heaven?^(DJ)
    And see how lofty are the highest stars!
¹³ Yet you say, ‘What does God know?^(DK)
    Does he judge through such darkness?^(DL)
14 Thick clouds^(DM) veil him, so he does not see us^(DN)
    as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’^(DO)
15 Will you keep to the old path
    that the wicked^(DP) have trod?^(DQ)
16 They were carried off before their time,^(DR)
    their foundations^(DS) washed away by a flood.^(DT)
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    What can the Almighty do to us?’^(DU)
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,^(DV)
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.^(DW)
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;^(DX)
    the innocent mock^(DY) them, saying,
²⁰ ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,^(DZ)
    and fire^(EA) devours their wealth.’

²¹ “Submit to God and be at peace^(EB) with him;^(EC)
    in this way prosperity will come to you.^(ED)
22 Accept instruction from his mouth^(EE)
    and lay up his words^(EF) in your heart.^(EG)
23 If you return^(EH) to the Almighty, you will be restored:^(EI)
    If you remove wickedness far from your tent^(EJ)
24 and assign your nuggets^(EK) to the dust,
    your gold^(EL) of Ophir^(EM) to the rocks in the ravines,^(EN)
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,^(EO)
    the choicest silver for you.^(EP)
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty^(EQ)
    and will lift up your face^(ER) to God.^(ES)
27 You will pray to him,^(ET) and he will hear you,^(EU)
    and you will fulfill your vows.^(EV)
28 What you decide on will be done,^(EW)
    and light^(EX) will shine on your ways.^(EY)
29 When people are brought low^(EZ) and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
    then he will save the downcast.^(FA)
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,^(FB)
    who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”^(FC)

² “Even today my complaint^(FD) is bitter;^(FE)
    his hand^[f] is heavy in spite of^[g] my groaning.^(FF)
3 If only I knew where to find him;
    if only I could go to his dwelling!^(FG)
4 I would state my case^(FH) before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.^(FI)
5 I would find out what he would answer me,^(FJ)
    and consider what he would say to me.
⁶ Would he vigorously oppose me?^(FK)
    No, he would not press charges against me.^(FL)
7 There the upright^(FM) can establish their innocence before him,^(FN)
    and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.^(FO)

⁸ “But if I go to the east, he is not there;
    if I go to the west, I do not find him.
⁹ When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
    when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.^(FP)
10 But he knows the way that I take;^(FQ)
    when he has tested me,^(FR) I will come forth as gold.^(FS)
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;^(FT)
    I have kept to his way without turning aside.^(FU)
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;^(FV)
    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.^(FW)

¹³ “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?^(FX)
    He does whatever he pleases.^(FY)
14 He carries out his decree against me,
    and many such plans he still has in store.^(FZ)
15 That is why I am terrified before him;^(GA)
    when I think of all this, I fear him.^(GB)
16 God has made my heart faint;^(GC)
    the Almighty^(GD) has terrified me.^(GE)
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,^(GF)
    by the thick darkness that covers my face.

24 “Why does the Almighty not set times^(GG) for judgment?^(GH)
    Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?^(GI)
2 There are those who move boundary stones;^(GJ)
    they pasture flocks they have stolen.^(GK)
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
    and take the widow’s ox in pledge.^(GL)
4 They thrust the needy^(GM) from the path
    and force all the poor^(GN) of the land into hiding.^(GO)
5 Like wild donkeys^(GP) in the desert,
    the poor go about their labor^(GQ) of foraging food;
    the wasteland^(GR) provides food for their children.
⁶ They gather fodder^(GS) in the fields
    and glean in the vineyards^(GT) of the wicked.^(GU)
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
    they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.^(GV)
8 They are drenched^(GW) by mountain rains
    and hug^(GX) the rocks for lack of shelter.^(GY)
9 The fatherless^(GZ) child is snatched^(HA) from the breast;
    the infant of the poor is seized^(HB) for a debt.^(HC)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;^(HD)
    they carry the sheaves,^(HE) but still go hungry.
¹¹ They crush olives among the terraces^[h];
    they tread the winepresses,^(HF) yet suffer thirst.^(HG)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.^(HH)
    But God charges no one with wrongdoing.^(HI)

¹³ “There are those who rebel against the light,^(HJ)
    who do not know its ways
    or stay in its paths.^(HK)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
    kills^(HL) the poor and needy,^(HM)
    and in the night steals forth like a thief.^(HN)
15 The eye of the adulterer^(HO) watches for dusk;^(HP)
    he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’^(HQ)
    and he keeps his face concealed.
¹⁶ In the dark, thieves break into houses,^(HR)
    but by day they shut themselves in;
    they want nothing to do with the light.^(HS)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
    they make friends with the terrors^(HT) of darkness.^(HU)

¹⁸ “Yet they are foam^(HV) on the surface of the water;^(HW)
    their portion of the land is cursed,^(HX)
    so that no one goes to the vineyards.^(HY)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,^(HZ)
    so the grave^(IA) snatches away those who have sinned.
²⁰ The womb forgets them,
    the worm^(IB) feasts on them;^(IC)
the wicked are no longer remembered^(ID)
    but are broken like a tree.^(IE)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
    and to the widow they show no kindness.^(IF)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;^(IG)
    though they become established,^(IH) they have no assurance of life.^(II)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,^(IJ)
    but his eyes^(IK) are on their ways.^(IL)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;^(IM)
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;^(IN)
    they are cut off like heads of grain.^(IO)

²⁵ “If this is not so, who can prove me false
    and reduce my words to nothing?”^(IP)

² “Dominion and awe belong to God;^(IR)
    he establishes order in the heights of heaven.^(IS)
3 Can his forces be numbered?
    On whom does his light not rise?^(IT)
4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
    How can one born of woman be pure?^(IU)
5 If even the moon^(IV) is not bright
    and the stars are not pure in his eyes,^(IW)
6 how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—
    a human being,^(IX) who is only a worm!”^(IY)

² “How you have helped the powerless!^(IZ)
    How you have saved the arm that is feeble!^(JA)
3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
    And what great insight^(JB) you have displayed!
⁴ Who has helped you utter these words?
    And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?^(JC)

⁵ “The dead are in deep anguish,^(JD)
    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
⁶ The realm of the dead^(JE) is naked before God;
    Destruction^[i](JF) lies uncovered.^(JG)
7 He spreads out the northern skies^(JH) over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.^(JI)
8 He wraps up the waters^(JJ) in his clouds,^(JK)
    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
⁹ He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading his clouds^(JL) over it.
¹⁰ He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters^(JM)
    for a boundary between light and darkness.^(JN)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,^(JO)
    aghast at his rebuke.
¹² By his power he churned up the sea;^(JP)
    by his wisdom^(JQ) he cut Rahab^(JR) to pieces.
¹³ By his breath the skies^(JS) became fair;
    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.^(JT)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
    how faint the whisper^(JU) we hear of him!^(JV)
    Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”^(JW)

² “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,^(JY)
    the Almighty,^(JZ) who has made my life bitter,^(KA)
3 as long as I have life within me,
    the breath of God^(KB) in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not say anything wicked,
    and my tongue will not utter lies.^(KC)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.^(KD)
6 I will maintain my innocence^(KE) and never let go of it;
    my conscience^(KF) will not reproach me as long as I live.^(KG)

⁷ “May my enemy be like the wicked,^(KH)
    my adversary^(KI) like the unjust!
⁸ For what hope have the godless^(KJ) when they are cut off,
    when God takes away their life?^(KK)
9 Does God listen to their cry
    when distress comes upon them?^(KL)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?^(KM)
    Will they call on God at all times?

¹¹ “I will teach you about the power of God;
    the ways^(KN) of the Almighty I will not conceal.^(KO)
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
    Why then this meaningless talk?

¹³ “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
    the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:^(KP)
14 However many his children,^(KQ) their fate is the sword;^(KR)
    his offspring will never have enough to eat.^(KS)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
    and their widows will not weep for them.^(KT)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust^(KU)
    and clothes like piles of clay,^(KV)
17 what he lays up^(KW) the righteous will wear,^(KX)
    and the innocent will divide his silver.^(KY)
18 The house^(KZ) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,^(LA)
    like a hut^(LB) made by a watchman.
¹⁹ He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;^(LC)
    when he opens his eyes, all is gone.^(LD)
20 Terrors^(LE) overtake him like a flood;^(LF)
    a tempest snatches him away in the night.^(LG)
21 The east wind^(LH) carries him off, and he is gone;^(LI)
    it sweeps him out of his place.^(LJ)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy^(LK)
    as he flees headlong^(LL) from its power.^(LM)
23 It claps its hands^(LN) in derision
    and hisses him out of his place.”^(LO)

¹² But where can wisdom be found?^(MG)
    Where does understanding dwell?^(MH)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;^(MI)
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.^(MJ)
14 The deep^(MK) says, “It is not in me”;
    the sea^(ML) says, “It is not with me.”
¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
    nor can its price be weighed out in silver.^(MM)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,^(MN)
    with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.^(MO)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,^(MP)
    nor can it be had for jewels of gold.^(MQ)
18 Coral^(MR) and jasper^(MS) are not worthy of mention;
    the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.^(MT)
19 The topaz^(MU) of Cush^(MV) cannot compare with it;
    it cannot be bought with pure gold.^(MW)

²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?^(MX)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    concealed even from the birds in the sky.^(MY)
22 Destruction^[k](MZ) and Death^(NA) say,
    “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
²³ God understands the way to it
    and he alone^(NB) knows where it dwells,^(NC)
24 for he views the ends of the earth^(ND)
    and sees everything under the heavens.^(NE)
25 When he established the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,^(NF)
26 when he made a decree for the rain^(NG)
    and a path for the thunderstorm,^(NH)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
    he confirmed it and tested it.^(NI)
28 And he said to the human race,
    “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
    and to shun evil^(NJ) is understanding.”^(NK)

² “How I long for the months gone by,^(NM)
    for the days when God watched over me,^(NN)
3 when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!^(NO)
4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
    when God’s intimate friendship^(NP) blessed my house,^(NQ)
5 when the Almighty was still with me
    and my children^(NR) were around me,^(NS)
6 when my path was drenched with cream^(NT)
    and the rock^(NU) poured out for me streams of olive oil.^(NV)

⁷ “When I went to the gate^(NW) of the city
    and took my seat in the public square,
⁸ the young men saw me and stepped aside^(NX)
    and the old men rose to their feet;^(NY)
9 the chief men refrained from speaking^(NZ)
    and covered their mouths with their hands;^(OA)
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,^(OB)
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.^(OC)
11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
    and those who saw me commended me,^(OD)
12 because I rescued the poor^(OE) who cried for help,
    and the fatherless^(OF) who had none to assist them.^(OG)
13 The one who was dying blessed me;^(OH)
    I made the widow’s^(OI) heart sing.
¹⁴ I put on righteousness^(OJ) as my clothing;
    justice was my robe and my turban.^(OK)
15 I was eyes^(OL) to the blind
    and feet to the lame.^(OM)
16 I was a father to the needy;^(ON)
    I took up the case^(OO) of the stranger.^(OP)
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
    and snatched the victims^(OQ) from their teeth.^(OR)

¹⁸ “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,
    my days as numerous as the grains of sand.^(OS)
19 My roots will reach to the water,^(OT)
    and the dew will lie all night on my branches.^(OU)
20 My glory will not fade;^(OV)
    the bow^(OW) will be ever new in my hand.’^(OX)

²¹ “People listened to me expectantly,
    waiting in silence for my counsel.^(OY)
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;^(OZ)
    my words fell gently on their ears.^(PA)
23 They waited for me as for showers
    and drank in my words as the spring rain.^(PB)
24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
    the light of my face^(PC) was precious to them.^[l](PD)
25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;^(PE)
    I dwelt as a king^(PF) among his troops;
    I was like one who comforts mourners.^(PG)

30 “But now they mock me,^(PH)
    men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
    to put with my sheep dogs.^(PI)
2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,
    since their vigor had gone from them?
³ Haggard from want and hunger,
    they roamed^[m] the parched land^(PJ)
    in desolate wastelands^(PK) at night.^(PL)
4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs,^(PM)
    and their food^[n] was the root of the broom bush.^(PN)
5 They were banished from human society,
    shouted at as if they were thieves.
⁶ They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,
    among the rocks and in holes in the ground.^(PO)
7 They brayed^(PP) among the bushes^(PQ)
    and huddled in the undergrowth.
⁸ A base and nameless brood,^(PR)
    they were driven out of the land.^(PS)

⁹ “And now those young men mock me^(PT) in song;^(PU)
    I have become a byword^(PV) among them.
¹⁰ They detest me^(PW) and keep their distance;
    they do not hesitate to spit in my face.^(PX)
11 Now that God has unstrung my bow^(PY) and afflicted me,^(PZ)
    they throw off restraint^(QA) in my presence.
¹² On my right^(QB) the tribe^[o] attacks;
    they lay snares^(QC) for my feet,^(QD)
    they build their siege ramps against me.^(QE)
13 They break up my road;^(QF)
    they succeed in destroying me.^(QG)
    ‘No one can help him,’ they say.
¹⁴ They advance as through a gaping breach;^(QH)
    amid the ruins they come rolling in.
¹⁵ Terrors^(QI) overwhelm me;^(QJ)
    my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
    my safety vanishes like a cloud.^(QK)

¹⁶ “And now my life ebbs away;^(QL)
    days of suffering grip me.^(QM)
17 Night pierces my bones;
    my gnawing pains never rest.^(QN)
18 In his great power^(QO) God becomes like clothing to me^[p];
    he binds me like the neck of my garment.
¹⁹ He throws me into the mud,^(QP)
    and I am reduced to dust and ashes.^(QQ)

²⁰ “I cry out to you,^(QR) God, but you do not answer;^(QS)
    I stand up, but you merely look at me.
²¹ You turn on me ruthlessly;^(QT)
    with the might of your hand^(QU) you attack me.^(QV)
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;^(QW)
    you toss me about in the storm.^(QX)
23 I know you will bring me down to death,^(QY)
    to the place appointed for all the living.^(QZ)

²⁴ “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man^(RA)
    when he cries for help in his distress.^(RB)
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?^(RC)
    Has not my soul grieved for the poor?^(RD)
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
    when I looked for light, then came darkness.^(RE)
27 The churning inside me never stops;^(RF)
    days of suffering confront me.^(RG)
28 I go about blackened,^(RH) but not by the sun;
    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.^(RI)
29 I have become a brother of jackals,^(RJ)
    a companion of owls.^(RK)
30 My skin grows black^(RL) and peels;^(RM)
    my body burns with fever.^(RN)
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning,^(RO)
    and my pipe^(RP) to the sound of wailing.

31 “I made a covenant with my eyes^(RQ)
    not to look lustfully at a young woman.^(RR)
2 For what is our lot^(RS) from God above,
    our heritage from the Almighty on high?^(RT)
3 Is it not ruin^(RU) for the wicked,
    disaster^(RV) for those who do wrong?^(RW)