Job 20-30

English Standard Version

² “Therefore my ^(B)thoughts answer me,
    because of my haste within me.
³ I hear censure that insults me,
    and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.
⁴ Do you not know this from of old,
    ^(C)since man was placed on earth,
^5 (D)that the exulting of the wicked is short,
    and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
^6 (E)Though his height mount up to the heavens,
    and his head reach to the clouds,
⁷ he will perish forever like his own ^(F)dung;
    those who have seen him will say, ^(G)‘Where is he?’
⁸ He will fly away like ^(H)a dream and not be found;
    he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
^9 (I)The eye that saw him will see him no more,
    nor will his place any more behold him.
¹⁰ His children will seek the favor of the poor,
    and his hands will ^(J)give back his wealth.
¹¹ His bones are full of his ^(K)youthful vigor,
    but it will lie ^(L)down with him in the dust.

¹² “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
    though he hides it ^(M)under his tongue,
¹³ though he is loath to let it go
    and holds it in his mouth,
¹⁴ yet his food is turned in his stomach;
    it is the venom of ^(N)cobras within him.
¹⁵ He swallows down riches and vomits them up again;
    God casts them out of his belly.
¹⁶ He will suck the poison of cobras;
    ^(O)the tongue of a viper will kill him.
¹⁷ He will not look upon ^(P)the rivers,
    the streams flowing with ^(Q)honey and ^(R)curds.
¹⁸ He will ^(S)give back the fruit of his toil
    and will not ^(T)swallow it down;
from the profit of his trading
    he will get no enjoyment.
¹⁹ For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;
    he has seized a house that he did not build.

²⁰ “Because he ^(U)knew no ^(V)contentment in his belly,
    ^(W)he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.
²¹ There was nothing left after he had eaten;
    therefore his prosperity will not endure.
²² In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress;
    the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.
²³ To fill his belly to the full,
    God^[a] will send his burning anger against him
    and rain it upon him ^(X)into his body.
^24 (Y)He will flee from an iron weapon;
    ^(Z)a bronze arrow will strike ^(AA)him through.
²⁵ It ^(AB)is drawn forth and comes out of his body;
    ^(AC)the glittering point comes out of his ^(AD)gallbladder;
    ^(AE)terrors come upon him.
²⁶ Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;
    ^(AF)a fire not fanned will devour him;
    what is left in his tent will be consumed.
^27 (AG)The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
    and the earth will rise up against him.
²⁸ The possessions of his house will be carried away,
    dragged off in the day of God's^[b] wrath.
^29 (AH)This is the wicked man's portion from God,
    ^(AI)the heritage decreed for him by God.”

^2 (AJ)“Keep listening to my words,
    and let this be your comfort.
³ Bear with me, and I will speak,
    and after I have spoken, ^(AK)mock on.
⁴ As for me, is my ^(AL)complaint against man?
    Why should I not be impatient?
⁵ Look at me and be appalled,
    and ^(AM)lay your hand over your mouth.
⁶ When I remember, I am dismayed,
    and shuddering seizes my flesh.
^7 (AN)Why do the wicked live,
    reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
⁸ Their ^(AO)offspring are established in their presence,
    and their descendants before their eyes.
⁹ Their houses are ^(AP)safe from fear,
    and ^(AQ)no rod of God is upon them.
¹⁰ Their bull breeds without fail;
    their cow calves and ^(AR)does not miscarry.
¹¹ They send out their ^(AS)little boys like a flock,
    and their children dance.
¹² They sing to ^(AT)the tambourine and ^(AU)the lyre
    and rejoice to the sound of ^(AV)the pipe.
¹³ They ^(AW)spend their days in prosperity,
    and in ^(AX)peace they go down to ^(AY)Sheol.
¹⁴ They say to God, ^(AZ)‘Depart from us!
    We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.
^15 (BA)What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    And what ^(BB)profit do we get if we pray to him?’
¹⁶ Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?
    ^(BC)The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷ “How often is it that ^(BD)the lamp of the wicked is put out?
    That their calamity comes upon them?
    That God^[c] distributes pains in his anger?
¹⁸ That they are like ^(BE)straw before the wind,
    and like ^(BF)chaff that the storm carries away?
¹⁹ You say, ‘God ^(BG)stores up their iniquity for their ^(BH)children.’
    Let him pay it out to them, that they may ^(BI)know it.
²⁰ Let their own eyes see their destruction,
    and let them ^(BJ)drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
²¹ For what do they care for their houses after them,
    when ^(BK)the number of their months is cut off?
^22 (BL)Will any teach God knowledge,
    seeing that he ^(BM)judges those who are on high?
²³ One dies in his full vigor,
    being wholly at ease and secure,
²⁴ his pails^[d] full of milk
    and ^(BN)the marrow of his bones moist.
²⁵ Another dies in ^(BO)bitterness of soul,
    never having tasted of prosperity.
²⁶ They ^(BP)lie down alike in the dust,
    and ^(BQ)the worms cover them.

²⁷ “Behold, I know your thoughts
    and your schemes to wrong me.
²⁸ For you say, ^(BR)‘Where is the house of the prince?
    Where is ^(BS)the tent in which the wicked lived?’
²⁹ Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
    and do you not accept their testimony
³⁰ that ^(BT)the evil man is spared in the day of calamity,
    that he is rescued in the day of wrath?
³¹ Who declares his way ^(BU)to his face,
    and who ^(BV)repays him for what he has done?
³² When he is ^(BW)carried to the grave,
    watch is kept over his tomb.
^33 (BX)The clods of the valley are sweet to him;
    ^(BY)all mankind follows after him,
    and those who go before him are innumerable.
³⁴ How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
    There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

^2 (CA)“Can a man be profitable to God?
    Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right,
    or is it gain to him if you ^(CB)make your ways blameless?
⁴ Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you
    and ^(CC)enters into judgment with you?
⁵ Is not your evil abundant?
    There is no end to your iniquities.
⁶ For you have ^(CD)exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing
    ^(CE)and stripped the naked of their clothing.
⁷ You have given no water to the weary to drink,
    and you have ^(CF)withheld bread from the hungry.
^8 (CG)The man with power possessed the land,
    and ^(CH)the favored man lived in it.
⁹ You have ^(CI)sent widows away empty,
    and ^(CJ)the arms of ^(CK)the fatherless were crushed.
¹⁰ Therefore ^(CL)snares are all around you,
    and sudden terror overwhelms you,
¹¹ or ^(CM)darkness, so that you cannot see,
    and a ^(CN)flood of ^(CO)water covers you.

¹² “Is not God high in the heavens?
    See ^(CP)the highest stars, how lofty they are!
¹³ But you say, ^(CQ)‘What does God know?
    Can he judge through ^(CR)the deep darkness?
^14 (CS)Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see,
    and he walks on the vault of heaven.’
¹⁵ Will you keep to the old way
    that wicked men have trod?
¹⁶ They were snatched away ^(CT)before their time;
    their foundation was washed away.^[e]
17 They said to God, ^(CU)‘Depart from us,’
    and ^(CV)‘What can the Almighty do to us?’^[f]
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
    but ^(CW)the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
^19 (CX)The righteous see it and are glad;
    the innocent one ^(CY)mocks at them,
²⁰ saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
    and what they left ^(CZ)the fire has consumed.’

^21 (DA)“Agree with God, and ^(DB)be at peace;
    thereby good will come to you.
²² Receive instruction from ^(DC)his mouth,
    and ^(DD)lay up his words in your heart.
²³ If you ^(DE)return to the Almighty you will be ^(DF)built up;
    if you ^(DG)remove injustice far from your tents,
²⁴ if you lay gold in ^(DH)the dust,
    and gold of ^(DI)Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
²⁵ then the Almighty will be your gold
    and your precious silver.
²⁶ For then you ^(DJ)will delight yourself in the Almighty
    and ^(DK)lift up your face to God.
²⁷ You will ^(DL)make your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
    and you will ^(DM)pay your vows.
²⁸ You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
    and ^(DN)light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’;^[g]
    but he saves ^(DO)the lowly.
³⁰ He ^(DP)delivers even the one who is not innocent,
    who will be delivered through ^(DQ)the cleanness of your hands.”

² “Today also my ^(DR)complaint is bitter;^[h]
    my ^(DS)hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
³ Oh, ^(DT)that I knew where I might find him,
    that I might come even to his ^(DU)seat!
⁴ I would ^(DV)lay my case before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ I would know what he would answer me
    and understand what he would say to me.
⁶ Would he ^(DW)contend with me in the greatness of his power?
    No; he would pay attention to me.
⁷ There an upright man could argue with him,
    and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.

⁸ “Behold, ^(DX)I go forward, but he is not there,
    and backward, but I do not perceive him;
⁹ on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
    he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
¹⁰ But he ^(DY)knows ^(DZ)the way that I ^(EA)take;
    when he has ^(EB)tried me, I shall come out as gold.
¹¹ My foot ^(EC)has held fast to his steps;
    I have kept his way and have ^(ED)not turned aside.
¹² I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
    I have ^(EE)treasured the words of his mouth more than my ^(EF)portion of food.
¹³ But he is unchangeable,^[i] and ^(EG)who can turn him back?
    What he ^(EH)desires, that he does.
¹⁴ For he will complete what he ^(EI)appoints for me,
    and many such things are ^(EJ)in his mind.
¹⁵ Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
    when I consider, I am in dread of him.
¹⁶ God has made my ^(EK)heart faint;
    the Almighty has terrified me;
¹⁷ yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,
    nor because thick darkness covers my face.

24 “Why are ^(EL)not times of judgment ^(EM)kept by the Almighty,
    and why do those who know him never see his ^(EN)days?
² Some move ^(EO)landmarks;
    they seize flocks and pasture them.
³ They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
    they ^(EP)take the widow's ox for a pledge.
⁴ They ^(EQ)thrust the poor off the road;
    the poor of the earth ^(ER)all hide themselves.
⁵ Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert
    the poor^{[j] (ES)}go out to their toil, ^(ET)seeking game;
    the wasteland yields food for their children.
⁶ They gather their^[k] fodder in the field,
    and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
⁷ They ^(EU)lie all night naked, without clothing,
    and have no covering in the cold.
⁸ They are wet with the rain of the mountains
    and ^(EV)cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
⁹ (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,
    and they take a pledge against the poor.)
¹⁰ They go about naked, without clothing;
    hungry, they ^(EW)carry the sheaves;
¹¹ among the olive rows of the wicked^[l] they make oil;
    they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.
¹² From out of the city the dying^[m] groan,
    and the soul of ^(EX)the wounded cries for help;
    yet God charges no one with ^(EY)wrong.

¹³ “There are those who rebel ^(EZ)against the light,
    who are not acquainted with its ways,
    and do not stay in its paths.
¹⁴ The murderer rises before it is light,
    that he ^(FA)may kill the poor and needy,
    and in the night he is like a thief.
¹⁵ The eye of the adulterer also waits for ^(FB)the twilight,
    saying, ‘No ^(FC)eye will see me’;
    and he veils his face.
¹⁶ In the dark they ^(FD)dig through houses;
    by day they shut themselves up;
    they do not know the light.
¹⁷ For ^(FE)deep darkness is morning to all of them;
    for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.

¹⁸ “You say, ^(FF)‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;
    their portion is cursed in the land;
    no treader turns toward their vineyards.
¹⁹ Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
    so does ^(FG)Sheol those who have sinned.
²⁰ The womb forgets them;
    the worm finds them sweet;
they are ^(FH)no longer remembered,
    so wickedness is broken like ^(FI)a tree.’

²¹ “They wrong the barren, childless woman,
    and do no good to the widow.
²² Yet God^[n] prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
    they rise up when they despair of life.
²³ He gives them security, and they are supported,
    and his ^(FJ)eyes are upon their ways.
²⁴ They are exalted ^(FK)a little while, and then ^(FL)are gone;
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
    they are ^(FM)cut off like the heads of grain.
²⁵ If it is ^(FN)not so, who will prove me a liar
    and show that there is nothing in what I say?”

² “Dominion and fear are with God;^[o]
    he makes peace in his high heaven.
³ Is there any number to his ^(FP)armies?
    Upon whom does his ^(FQ)light not arise?
⁴ How then can man be ^(FR)in the right before God?
    How can he who is ^(FS)born of woman be ^(FT)pure?
⁵ Behold, even the moon is not bright,
    and the stars are not pure in his eyes;
^6 (FU)how much less man, who is ^(FV)a maggot,
    and ^(FW)the son of man, who is a worm!”

² “How you have ^(FX)helped him who has no power!
    How you have saved ^(FY)the arm that has no strength!
³ How you have ^(FZ)counseled him who has no wisdom,
    and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
⁴ With whose help have you uttered words,
    and whose breath ^(GA)has come out from you?
⁵ The ^(GB)dead tremble
    under the waters and their inhabitants.
⁶ Sheol is ^(GC)naked before God,^[p]
    and ^(GD)Abaddon has no covering.
⁷ He ^(GE)stretches out the north over ^(GF)the void
    and hangs the earth on nothing.
⁸ He ^(GG)binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
    and the cloud is not split open under them.
⁹ He covers the face of the full moon^[q]
    and ^(GH)spreads over it his cloud.
¹⁰ He has inscribed ^(GI)a circle on the face of the waters
    at the boundary between light and darkness.
^11 (GJ)The pillars of heaven tremble
    and are astounded at his ^(GK)rebuke.
¹² By his power he ^(GL)stilled the sea;
    by his understanding he shattered ^(GM)Rahab.
^13 (GN)By his wind the heavens were made fair;
    his hand pierced ^(GO)the fleeing serpent.
¹⁴ Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ^(GP)ways,
    and how small ^(GQ)a whisper do we hear of him!
    But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

² “As God lives, who has ^(GS)taken away my right,
    and the Almighty, who has ^(GT)made my soul bitter,
³ as long as my breath is in me,
    and ^(GU)the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not speak ^(GV)falsehood,
    and my tongue will not utter ^(GW)deceit.
⁵ Far be it from me to say that you are right;
    till I die I will not put away my ^(GX)integrity from me.
⁶ I ^(GY)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
    my heart does not ^(GZ)reproach me for any of my days.

⁷ “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
    and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
^8 (HA)For what is the hope of the godless ^(HB)when God cuts him off,
    when God takes away his life?
^9 (HC)Will God hear his cry
    when distress comes upon him?
¹⁰ Will he ^(HD)take delight in the Almighty?
    Will he call upon God at all times?
¹¹ I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
    ^(HE)what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
¹² Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
    why then have you become altogether vain?

^13 (HF)“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
    and the heritage that ^(HG)oppressors receive from the Almighty:
¹⁴ If his ^(HH)children are multiplied, it is for ^(HI)the sword,
    and his descendants have not enough bread.
¹⁵ Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
    and his ^(HJ)widows do not weep.
¹⁶ Though he ^(HK)heap up silver like dust,
    and pile up clothing like clay,
¹⁷ he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
    and ^(HL)the innocent will divide the silver.
¹⁸ He builds his ^(HM)house like a moth's,
    like ^(HN)a booth that ^(HO)a watchman makes.
¹⁹ He goes to bed rich, but will ^(HP)do so no more;
    he opens his eyes, and ^(HQ)his wealth is gone.
^20 (HR)Terrors overtake him like ^(HS)a flood;
    in the night a whirlwind ^(HT)carries him off.
^21 (HU)The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
    it ^(HV)sweeps him out of his place.
²² It^[r] hurls at him ^(HW)without pity;
    he flees from its^[s] power in headlong flight.
²³ It ^(HX)claps its hands at him
    and ^(HY)hisses at him from its place.

⁷ “That path no bird of prey knows,
    and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
^8 (IE)The proud beasts have not trodden it;
    ^(IF)the lion has not passed over it.

⁹ “Man puts his hand to ^(IG)the flinty rock
    and overturns mountains by the roots.
¹⁰ He cuts out channels in the rocks,
    and his eye sees every precious thing.
¹¹ He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
    and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

^12 (IH)“But where shall wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?
¹³ Man does not know its worth,
    and it is not found in ^(II)the land of the living.
^14 (IJ)The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
¹⁵ It ^(IK)cannot be bought for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
¹⁶ It cannot be valued in ^(IL)the gold of ^(IM)Ophir,
    in precious ^(IN)onyx or ^(IO)sapphire.
¹⁷ Gold and glass cannot equal it,
    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
¹⁸ No mention shall be made of ^(IP)coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above ^(IQ)(IR)pearls.
^19 (IS)The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ “From where, then, does wisdom come?
    And where is the place of understanding?
²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of ^(IT)all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
^22 (IU)Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

^23 (IV)“God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
²⁴ For he ^(IW)looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ When he ^(IX)gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain
    and ^(IY)a way for the lightning of the thunder,
²⁷ then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.
²⁸ And he said to man,
‘Behold, ^(IZ)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to ^(JA)turn away from evil is understanding.’”

² “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
    as in the days when God watched over me,
³ when his ^(JC)lamp shone upon my head,
    and by his light I walked through darkness,
⁴ as I was in my prime,^[u]
    when the ^(JD)friendship of God was upon my tent,
⁵ when the Almighty was yet with me,
    when my ^(JE)children were all around me,
⁶ when my steps were ^(JF)washed with ^(JG)butter,
    and ^(JH)the rock poured out for me streams of ^(JI)oil!
⁷ When I went out to ^(JJ)the gate of the city,
    when I prepared my seat in the square,
⁸ the young men saw me and withdrew,
    and the aged rose and stood;
⁹ the princes refrained from talking
    and ^(JK)laid their hand on their mouth;
¹⁰ the voice of the nobles was hushed,
    and their ^(JL)tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
¹¹ When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
    and when the eye saw, it approved,
¹² because I ^(JM)delivered the poor who cried for help,
    and the fatherless who had none to help him.
^13 (JN)The blessing of him who was ^(JO)about to perish came upon me,
    and I caused ^(JP)the widow's heart to sing for joy.
¹⁴ I ^(JQ)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
    my justice was like a robe and ^(JR)a turban.
¹⁵ I was ^(JS)eyes to the blind
    and feet to the lame.
¹⁶ I was a father to the needy,
    and I searched out ^(JT)the cause of him whom I did not know.
¹⁷ I ^(JU)broke ^(JV)the fangs of the unrighteous
    and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
^18 (JW)Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my ^(JX)nest,
    and I shall multiply my days as ^(JY)the sand,
¹⁹ my ^(JZ)roots spread out to ^(KA)the waters,
    with the dew all night on my ^(KB)branches,
²⁰ my glory fresh with me,
    and my ^(KC)bow ever ^(KD)new in my hand.’

²¹ “Men listened to me and waited
    and kept silence for my counsel.
²² After I spoke they did not speak again,
    and my word ^(KE)dropped upon them.
²³ They waited for me as for the rain,
    and they ^(KF)opened their mouths as for the ^(KG)spring rain.
²⁴ I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
    and ^(KH)the light of my ^(KI)face they did not cast down.
²⁵ I chose their way and sat as chief,
    and I lived like ^(KJ)a king among his troops,
    like one who comforts mourners.

30 “But now they ^(KK)laugh at me,
    men who are ^(KL)younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
    to set with the dogs of my flock.
² What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
    ^(KM)men whose ^(KN)vigor is gone?
³ Through want and hard hunger
    they ^(KO)gnaw ^(KP)the dry ground by night in ^(KQ)waste and desolation;
⁴ they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
    and the roots of the broom tree for their food.^[v]
5 (KR)They are driven out from human company;
    they shout after them as after a thief.
⁶ In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
    in holes of the earth and of ^(KS)the rocks.
⁷ Among the bushes they ^(KT)bray;
    under ^(KU)the nettles they huddle together.
⁸ A senseless, a nameless brood,
    they have been whipped out of the land.

⁹ “And now I have become their ^(KV)song;
    I am ^(KW)a byword to them.
¹⁰ They ^(KX)abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
    they do not hesitate to ^(KY)spit at the sight of me.
¹¹ Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
    they have cast off restraint^[w] in my presence.
¹² On my ^(KZ)right hand the rabble rise;
    they push away my feet;
    they ^(LA)cast up against me their ways of destruction.
¹³ They break up my path;
    they promote my ^(LB)calamity;
    they need no one to help them.
¹⁴ As through a wide ^(LC)breach they come;
    amid the crash they roll on.
^15 (LD)Terrors are turned upon me;
    my honor is pursued as by the wind,
    and my prosperity has passed away like ^(LE)a cloud.

¹⁶ “And now my soul is ^(LF)poured out within me;
    days of affliction have taken hold of me.
^17 (LG)The night ^(LH)racks my bones,
    and the pain that ^(LI)gnaws me takes no rest.
¹⁸ With great force my garment is ^(LJ)disfigured;
    it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
¹⁹ God^[x] has cast me into the mire,
    and I have become like ^(LK)dust and ashes.