Job 22-32

New International Version

² “Can a man be of benefit to God?^(B)
    Can even a wise person benefit him?^(C)
3 What pleasure^(D) would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?^(E)
    What would he gain if your ways were blameless?^(F)

⁴ “Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
    and brings charges against you?^(G)
5 Is not your wickedness great?
    Are not your sins^(H) endless?^(I)
6 You demanded security^(J) from your relatives for no reason;^(K)
    you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.^(L)
7 You gave no water^(M) to the weary
    and you withheld food from the hungry,^(N)
8 though you were a powerful man, owning land^(O)—
    an honored man,^(P) living on it.^(Q)
9 And you sent widows^(R) away empty-handed^(S)
    and broke the strength of the fatherless.^(T)
10 That is why snares^(U) are all around you,^(V)
    why sudden peril terrifies you,^(W)
11 why it is so dark^(X) you cannot see,
    and why a flood of water covers you.^(Y)

¹² “Is not God in the heights of heaven?^(Z)
    And see how lofty are the highest stars!
¹³ Yet you say, ‘What does God know?^(AA)
    Does he judge through such darkness?^(AB)
14 Thick clouds^(AC) veil him, so he does not see us^(AD)
    as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’^(AE)
15 Will you keep to the old path
    that the wicked^(AF) have trod?^(AG)
16 They were carried off before their time,^(AH)
    their foundations^(AI) washed away by a flood.^(AJ)
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    What can the Almighty do to us?’^(AK)
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,^(AL)
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.^(AM)
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;^(AN)
    the innocent mock^(AO) them, saying,
²⁰ ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,^(AP)
    and fire^(AQ) devours their wealth.’

²¹ “Submit to God and be at peace^(AR) with him;^(AS)
    in this way prosperity will come to you.^(AT)
22 Accept instruction from his mouth^(AU)
    and lay up his words^(AV) in your heart.^(AW)
23 If you return^(AX) to the Almighty, you will be restored:^(AY)
    If you remove wickedness far from your tent^(AZ)
24 and assign your nuggets^(BA) to the dust,
    your gold^(BB) of Ophir^(BC) to the rocks in the ravines,^(BD)
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,^(BE)
    the choicest silver for you.^(BF)
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty^(BG)
    and will lift up your face^(BH) to God.^(BI)
27 You will pray to him,^(BJ) and he will hear you,^(BK)
    and you will fulfill your vows.^(BL)
28 What you decide on will be done,^(BM)
    and light^(BN) will shine on your ways.^(BO)
29 When people are brought low^(BP) and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
    then he will save the downcast.^(BQ)
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,^(BR)
    who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”^(BS)

² “Even today my complaint^(BT) is bitter;^(BU)
    his hand^[a] is heavy in spite of^[b] my groaning.^(BV)
3 If only I knew where to find him;
    if only I could go to his dwelling!^(BW)
4 I would state my case^(BX) before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.^(BY)
5 I would find out what he would answer me,^(BZ)
    and consider what he would say to me.
⁶ Would he vigorously oppose me?^(CA)
    No, he would not press charges against me.^(CB)
7 There the upright^(CC) can establish their innocence before him,^(CD)
    and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.^(CE)

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.^(CF)
10 But he knows the way that I take;^(CG)
    when he has tested me,^(CH) I will come forth as gold.^(CI)
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;^(CJ)
    I have kept to his way without turning aside.^(CK)
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;^(CL)
    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.^(CM)

¹³ “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?^(CN)
    He does whatever he pleases.^(CO)
14 He carries out his decree against me,
    and many such plans he still has in store.^(CP)
15 That is why I am terrified before him;^(CQ)
    when I think of all this, I fear him.^(CR)
16 God has made my heart faint;^(CS)
    the Almighty^(CT) has terrified me.^(CU)
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,^(CV)
    by the thick darkness that covers my face.

24 “Why does the Almighty not set times^(CW) for judgment?^(CX)
    Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?^(CY)
2 There are those who move boundary stones;^(CZ)
    they pasture flocks they have stolen.^(DA)
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
    and take the widow’s ox in pledge.^(DB)
4 They thrust the needy^(DC) from the path
    and force all the poor^(DD) of the land into hiding.^(DE)
5 Like wild donkeys^(DF) in the desert,
    the poor go about their labor^(DG) of foraging food;
    the wasteland^(DH) provides food for their children.
⁶ They gather fodder^(DI) in the fields
    and glean in the vineyards^(DJ) of the wicked.^(DK)
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
    they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.^(DL)
8 They are drenched^(DM) by mountain rains
    and hug^(DN) the rocks for lack of shelter.^(DO)
9 The fatherless^(DP) child is snatched^(DQ) from the breast;
    the infant of the poor is seized^(DR) for a debt.^(DS)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;^(DT)
    they carry the sheaves,^(DU) but still go hungry.
¹¹ They crush olives among the terraces^[c];
    they tread the winepresses,^(DV) yet suffer thirst.^(DW)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.^(DX)
    But God charges no one with wrongdoing.^(DY)

¹³ “There are those who rebel against the light,^(DZ)
    who do not know its ways
    or stay in its paths.^(EA)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
    kills^(EB) the poor and needy,^(EC)
    and in the night steals forth like a thief.^(ED)
15 The eye of the adulterer^(EE) watches for dusk;^(EF)
    he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’^(EG)
    and he keeps his face concealed.
¹⁶ In the dark, thieves break into houses,^(EH)
    but by day they shut themselves in;
    they want nothing to do with the light.^(EI)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
    they make friends with the terrors^(EJ) of darkness.^(EK)

¹⁸ “Yet they are foam^(EL) on the surface of the water;^(EM)
    their portion of the land is cursed,^(EN)
    so that no one goes to the vineyards.^(EO)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,^(EP)
    so the grave^(EQ) snatches away those who have sinned.
²⁰ The womb forgets them,
    the worm^(ER) feasts on them;^(ES)
the wicked are no longer remembered^(ET)
    but are broken like a tree.^(EU)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
    and to the widow they show no kindness.^(EV)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;^(EW)
    though they become established,^(EX) they have no assurance of life.^(EY)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,^(EZ)
    but his eyes^(FA) are on their ways.^(FB)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;^(FC)
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;^(FD)
    they are cut off like heads of grain.^(FE)

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

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

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

⁵ “The dead are in deep anguish,^(FT)
    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
⁶ The realm of the dead^(FU) is naked before God;
    Destruction^[d](FV) lies uncovered.^(FW)
7 He spreads out the northern skies^(FX) over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.^(FY)
8 He wraps up the waters^(FZ) in his clouds,^(GA)
    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
⁹ He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading his clouds^(GB) over it.
¹⁰ He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters^(GC)
    for a boundary between light and darkness.^(GD)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,^(GE)
    aghast at his rebuke.
¹² By his power he churned up the sea;^(GF)
    by his wisdom^(GG) he cut Rahab^(GH) to pieces.
¹³ By his breath the skies^(GI) became fair;
    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.^(GJ)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
    how faint the whisper^(GK) we hear of him!^(GL)
    Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”^(GM)

² “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,^(GO)
    the Almighty,^(GP) who has made my life bitter,^(GQ)
3 as long as I have life within me,
    the breath of God^(GR) in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not say anything wicked,
    and my tongue will not utter lies.^(GS)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.^(GT)
6 I will maintain my innocence^(GU) and never let go of it;
    my conscience^(GV) will not reproach me as long as I live.^(GW)

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

¹¹ “I will teach you about the power of God;
    the ways^(HD) of the Almighty I will not conceal.^(HE)
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:^(HF)
14 However many his children,^(HG) their fate is the sword;^(HH)
    his offspring will never have enough to eat.^(HI)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
    and their widows will not weep for them.^(HJ)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust^(HK)
    and clothes like piles of clay,^(HL)
17 what he lays up^(HM) the righteous will wear,^(HN)
    and the innocent will divide his silver.^(HO)
18 The house^(HP) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,^(HQ)
    like a hut^(HR) made by a watchman.
¹⁹ He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;^(HS)
    when he opens his eyes, all is gone.^(HT)
20 Terrors^(HU) overtake him like a flood;^(HV)
    a tempest snatches him away in the night.^(HW)
21 The east wind^(HX) carries him off, and he is gone;^(HY)
    it sweeps him out of his place.^(HZ)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy^(IA)
    as he flees headlong^(IB) from its power.^(IC)
23 It claps its hands^(ID) in derision
    and hisses him out of his place.”^(IE)

¹² But where can wisdom be found?^(IW)
    Where does understanding dwell?^(IX)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;^(IY)
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.^(IZ)
14 The deep^(JA) says, “It is not in me”;
    the sea^(JB) says, “It is not with me.”
¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
    nor can its price be weighed out in silver.^(JC)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,^(JD)
    with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.^(JE)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,^(JF)
    nor can it be had for jewels of gold.^(JG)
18 Coral^(JH) and jasper^(JI) are not worthy of mention;
    the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.^(JJ)
19 The topaz^(JK) of Cush^(JL) cannot compare with it;
    it cannot be bought with pure gold.^(JM)

²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?^(JN)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    concealed even from the birds in the sky.^(JO)
22 Destruction^[f](JP) and Death^(JQ) say,
    “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
²³ God understands the way to it
    and he alone^(JR) knows where it dwells,^(JS)
24 for he views the ends of the earth^(JT)
    and sees everything under the heavens.^(JU)
25 When he established the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,^(JV)
26 when he made a decree for the rain^(JW)
    and a path for the thunderstorm,^(JX)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
    he confirmed it and tested it.^(JY)
28 And he said to the human race,
    “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
    and to shun evil^(JZ) is understanding.”^(KA)

² “How I long for the months gone by,^(KC)
    for the days when God watched over me,^(KD)
3 when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!^(KE)
4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
    when God’s intimate friendship^(KF) blessed my house,^(KG)
5 when the Almighty was still with me
    and my children^(KH) were around me,^(KI)
6 when my path was drenched with cream^(KJ)
    and the rock^(KK) poured out for me streams of olive oil.^(KL)

⁷ “When I went to the gate^(KM) of the city
    and took my seat in the public square,
⁸ the young men saw me and stepped aside^(KN)
    and the old men rose to their feet;^(KO)
9 the chief men refrained from speaking^(KP)
    and covered their mouths with their hands;^(KQ)
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,^(KR)
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.^(KS)
11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
    and those who saw me commended me,^(KT)
12 because I rescued the poor^(KU) who cried for help,
    and the fatherless^(KV) who had none to assist them.^(KW)
13 The one who was dying blessed me;^(KX)
    I made the widow’s^(KY) heart sing.
¹⁴ I put on righteousness^(KZ) as my clothing;
    justice was my robe and my turban.^(LA)
15 I was eyes^(LB) to the blind
    and feet to the lame.^(LC)
16 I was a father to the needy;^(LD)
    I took up the case^(LE) of the stranger.^(LF)
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
    and snatched the victims^(LG) from their teeth.^(LH)

¹⁸ “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,
    my days as numerous as the grains of sand.^(LI)
19 My roots will reach to the water,^(LJ)
    and the dew will lie all night on my branches.^(LK)
20 My glory will not fade;^(LL)
    the bow^(LM) will be ever new in my hand.’^(LN)

²¹ “People listened to me expectantly,
    waiting in silence for my counsel.^(LO)
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;^(LP)
    my words fell gently on their ears.^(LQ)
23 They waited for me as for showers
    and drank in my words as the spring rain.^(LR)
24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
    the light of my face^(LS) was precious to them.^[g](LT)
25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;^(LU)
    I dwelt as a king^(LV) among his troops;
    I was like one who comforts mourners.^(LW)

30 “But now they mock me,^(LX)
    men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
    to put with my sheep dogs.^(LY)
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^[h] the parched land^(LZ)
    in desolate wastelands^(MA) at night.^(MB)
4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs,^(MC)
    and their food^[i] was the root of the broom bush.^(MD)
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.^(ME)
7 They brayed^(MF) among the bushes^(MG)
    and huddled in the undergrowth.
⁸ A base and nameless brood,^(MH)
    they were driven out of the land.^(MI)

⁹ “And now those young men mock me^(MJ) in song;^(MK)
    I have become a byword^(ML) among them.
¹⁰ They detest me^(MM) and keep their distance;
    they do not hesitate to spit in my face.^(MN)
11 Now that God has unstrung my bow^(MO) and afflicted me,^(MP)
    they throw off restraint^(MQ) in my presence.
¹² On my right^(MR) the tribe^[j] attacks;
    they lay snares^(MS) for my feet,^(MT)
    they build their siege ramps against me.^(MU)
13 They break up my road;^(MV)
    they succeed in destroying me.^(MW)
    ‘No one can help him,’ they say.
¹⁴ They advance as through a gaping breach;^(MX)
    amid the ruins they come rolling in.
¹⁵ Terrors^(MY) overwhelm me;^(MZ)
    my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
    my safety vanishes like a cloud.^(NA)

¹⁶ “And now my life ebbs away;^(NB)
    days of suffering grip me.^(NC)
17 Night pierces my bones;
    my gnawing pains never rest.^(ND)
18 In his great power^(NE) God becomes like clothing to me^[k];
    he binds me like the neck of my garment.
¹⁹ He throws me into the mud,^(NF)
    and I am reduced to dust and ashes.^(NG)

²⁰ “I cry out to you,^(NH) God, but you do not answer;^(NI)
    I stand up, but you merely look at me.
²¹ You turn on me ruthlessly;^(NJ)
    with the might of your hand^(NK) you attack me.^(NL)
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;^(NM)
    you toss me about in the storm.^(NN)
23 I know you will bring me down to death,^(NO)
    to the place appointed for all the living.^(NP)

²⁴ “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man^(NQ)
    when he cries for help in his distress.^(NR)
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?^(NS)
    Has not my soul grieved for the poor?^(NT)
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
    when I looked for light, then came darkness.^(NU)
27 The churning inside me never stops;^(NV)
    days of suffering confront me.^(NW)
28 I go about blackened,^(NX) but not by the sun;
    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.^(NY)
29 I have become a brother of jackals,^(NZ)
    a companion of owls.^(OA)
30 My skin grows black^(OB) and peels;^(OC)
    my body burns with fever.^(OD)
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning,^(OE)
    and my pipe^(OF) to the sound of wailing.

31 “I made a covenant with my eyes^(OG)
    not to look lustfully at a young woman.^(OH)
2 For what is our lot^(OI) from God above,
    our heritage from the Almighty on high?^(OJ)
3 Is it not ruin^(OK) for the wicked,
    disaster^(OL) for those who do wrong?^(OM)
4 Does he not see my ways^(ON)
    and count my every step?^(OO)

⁵ “If I have walked with falsehood
    or my foot has hurried after deceit^(OP)—
⁶ let God weigh me^(OQ) in honest scales^(OR)
    and he will know that I am blameless^(OS)—
⁷ if my steps have turned from the path,^(OT)
    if my heart has been led by my eyes,
    or if my hands^(OU) have been defiled,^(OV)
8 then may others eat what I have sown,^(OW)
    and may my crops be uprooted.^(OX)

⁹ “If my heart has been enticed^(OY) by a woman,^(OZ)
    or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
¹⁰ then may my wife grind^(PA) another man’s grain,
    and may other men sleep with her.^(PB)
11 For that would have been wicked,^(PC)
    a sin to be judged.^(PD)
12 It is a fire^(PE) that burns to Destruction^[l];^(PF)
    it would have uprooted my harvest.^(PG)

¹³ “If I have denied justice to any of my servants,^(PH)
    whether male or female,
    when they had a grievance against me,^(PI)
14 what will I do when God confronts me?^(PJ)
    What will I answer when called to account?^(PK)
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?^(PL)
    Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?^(PM)

¹⁶ “If I have denied the desires of the poor^(PN)
    or let the eyes of the widow^(PO) grow weary,^(PP)
17 if I have kept my bread to myself,
    not sharing it with the fatherless^(PQ)—
¹⁸ but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
    and from my birth I guided the widow^(PR)—
¹⁹ if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,^(PS)
    or the needy^(PT) without garments,
²⁰ and their hearts did not bless me^(PU)
    for warming them with the fleece^(PV) from my sheep,
²¹ if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,^(PW)
    knowing that I had influence in court,^(PX)
22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
    let it be broken off at the joint.^(PY)
23 For I dreaded destruction from God,^(PZ)
    and for fear of his splendor^(QA) I could not do such things.^(QB)

²⁴ “If I have put my trust in gold^(QC)
    or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’^(QD)
25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,^(QE)
    the fortune my hands had gained,^(QF)
26 if I have regarded the sun^(QG) in its radiance
    or the moon^(QH) moving in splendor,
²⁷ so that my heart was secretly enticed^(QI)
    and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,^(QJ)
28 then these also would be sins to be judged,^(QK)
    for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.^(QL)

²⁹ “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune^(QM)
    or gloated over the trouble that came to him^(QN)—
³⁰ I have not allowed my mouth to sin
    by invoking a curse against their life^(QO)—
³¹ if those of my household have never said,
    ‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’^(QP)—
³² but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
    for my door was always open to the traveler^(QQ)—
³³ if I have concealed^(QR) my sin as people do,^[m]
    by hiding^(QS) my guilt in my heart
³⁴ because I so feared the crowd^(QT)
    and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
    that I kept silent^(QU) and would not go outside—

³⁵ (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!^(QV)
    I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
    let my accuser^(QW) put his indictment in writing.
³⁶ Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,^(QX)
    I would put it on like a crown.^(QY)
37 I would give him an account of my every step;^(QZ)
    I would present it to him as to a ruler.^(RA))—

³⁸ “if my land cries out against me^(RB)
    and all its furrows are wet^(RC) with tears,
³⁹ if I have devoured its yield without payment^(RD)
    or broken the spirit of its tenants,^(RE)
40 then let briers^(RF) come up instead of wheat
    and stinkweed^(RG) instead of barley.”

“I am young in years,
    and you are old;^(RR)
that is why I was fearful,
    not daring to tell you what I know.
⁷ I thought, ‘Age should speak;
    advanced years should teach wisdom.’^(RS)
8 But it is the spirit^[o](RT) in a person,
    the breath of the Almighty,^(RU) that gives them understanding.^(RV)
9 It is not only the old^[p] who are wise,^(RW)
    not only the aged^(RX) who understand what is right.^(RY)

¹⁰ “Therefore I say: Listen to me;^(RZ)
    I too will tell you what I know.^(SA)
11 I waited while you spoke,
    I listened to your reasoning;
while you were searching for words,