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Job 24-28
New Living Translation
Job 24-28
New Living Translation
Job Asks Why the Wicked Are Not Punished
24 “Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment?
Why must the godly wait for him in vain?
2 Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers.
They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.
3 They take the orphan’s donkey
and demand the widow’s ox as security for a loan.
4 The poor are pushed off the path;
the needy must hide together for safety.
5 Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
the poor must spend all their time looking for food,
searching even in the desert for food for their children.
6 They harvest a field they do not own,
and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
7 All night they lie naked in the cold,
without clothing or covering.
8 They are soaked by mountain showers,
and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.
9 “The wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast,
taking the baby as security for a loan.
10 The poor must go about naked, without any clothing.
They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.
11 They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it,
and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the wounded cry for help,
yet God ignores their moaning.
13 “Wicked people rebel against the light.
They refuse to acknowledge its ways
or stay in its paths.
14 The murderer rises in the early dawn
to kill the poor and needy;
at night he is a thief.
15 The adulterer waits for the twilight,
saying, ‘No one will see me then.’
He hides his face so no one will know him.
16 Thieves break into houses at night
and sleep in the daytime.
They are not acquainted with the light.
17 The black night is their morning.
They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness.
18 “But they disappear like foam down a river.
Everything they own is cursed,
and they are afraid to enter their own vineyards.
19 The grave[a] consumes sinners
just as drought and heat consume snow.
20 Their own mothers will forget them.
Maggots will find them sweet to eat.
No one will remember them.
Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm.
21 They cheat the woman who has no son to help her.
They refuse to help the needy widow.
22 “God, in his power, drags away the rich.
They may rise high, but they have no assurance of life.
23 They may be allowed to live in security,
but God is always watching them.
24 And though they are great now,
in a moment they will be gone like all others,
cut off like heads of grain.
25 Can anyone claim otherwise?
Who can prove me wrong?”
Bildad’s Third Response to Job
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2 “God is powerful and dreadful.
He enforces peace in the heavens.
3 Who is able to count his heavenly army?
Doesn’t his light shine on all the earth?
4 How can a mortal be innocent before God?
Can anyone born of a woman be pure?
5 God is more glorious than the moon;
he shines brighter than the stars.
6 In comparison, people are maggots;
we mortals are mere worms.”
Job’s Ninth Speech: A Response to Bildad
26 Then Job spoke again:
2 “How you have helped the powerless!
How you have saved the weak!
3 How you have enlightened my stupidity!
What wise advice you have offered!
4 Where have you gotten all these wise sayings?
Whose spirit speaks through you?
5 “The dead tremble—
those who live beneath the waters.
6 The underworld[b] is naked in God’s presence.
The place of destruction[c] is uncovered.
7 God stretches the northern sky over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He wraps the rain in his thick clouds,
and the clouds don’t burst with the weight.
9 He covers the face of the moon,[d]
shrouding it with his clouds.
10 He created the horizon when he separated the waters;
he set the boundary between day and night.
11 The foundations of heaven tremble;
they shudder at his rebuke.
12 By his power the sea grew calm.
By his skill he crushed the great sea monster.[e]
13 His Spirit made the heavens beautiful,
and his power pierced the gliding serpent.
14 These are just the beginning of all that he does,
merely a whisper of his power.
Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?”
Job’s Final Speech
27 Job continued speaking:
2 “I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights,
by the Almighty who has embittered my soul—
3 As long as I live,
while I have breath from God,
4 my lips will speak no evil,
and my tongue will speak no lies.
5 I will never concede that you are right;
I will defend my integrity until I die.
6 I will maintain my innocence without wavering.
My conscience is clear for as long as I live.
7 “May my enemy be punished like the wicked,
my adversary like those who do evil.
8 For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off
and takes away their life?
9 Will God listen to their cry
when trouble comes upon them?
10 Can they take delight in the Almighty?
Can they call to God at any time?
11 I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not conceal anything concerning the Almighty.
12 But you have seen all this,
yet you say all these useless things to me.
13 “This is what the wicked will receive from God;
this is their inheritance from the Almighty.
14 They may have many children,
but the children will die in war or starve to death.
15 Those who survive will die of a plague,
and not even their widows will mourn them.
16 “Evil people may have piles of money
and may store away mounds of clothing.
17 But the righteous will wear that clothing,
and the innocent will divide that money.
18 The wicked build houses as fragile as a spider’s web,[f]
as flimsy as a shelter made of branches.
19 The wicked go to bed rich
but wake to find that all their wealth is gone.
20 Terror overwhelms them like a flood,
and they are blown away in the storms of the night.
21 The east wind carries them away, and they are gone.
It sweeps them away.
22 It whirls down on them without mercy.
They struggle to flee from its power.
23 But everyone jeers at them
and mocks them.
Job Speaks of Wisdom and Understanding
28 “People know where to mine silver
and how to refine gold.
2 They know where to dig iron from the earth
and how to smelt copper from rock.
3 They know how to shine light in the darkness
and explore the farthest regions of the earth
as they search in the dark for ore.
4 They sink a mine shaft into the earth
far from where anyone lives.
They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth.
5 Food is grown on the earth above,
but down below, the earth is melted as by fire.
6 Here the rocks contain precious lapis lazuli,
and the dust contains gold.
7 These are treasures no bird of prey can see,
no falcon’s eye observe.
8 No wild animal has walked upon these treasures;
no lion has ever set his paw there.
9 People know how to tear apart flinty rocks
and overturn the roots of mountains.
10 They cut tunnels in the rocks
and uncover precious stones.
11 They dam up the trickling streams
and bring to light the hidden treasures.
12 “But do people know where to find wisdom?
Where can they find understanding?
13 No one knows where to find it,[g]
for it is not found among the living.
14 ‘It is not here,’ says the ocean.
‘Nor is it here,’ says the sea.
15 It cannot be bought with gold.
It cannot be purchased with silver.
16 It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir,
greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
17 Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal.
It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.
18 Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it.
The price of wisdom is far above rubies.
19 Precious peridot from Ethiopia[h] cannot be exchanged for it.
It’s worth more than the purest gold.
20 “But do people know where to find wisdom?
Where can they find understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all humanity.
Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it.
22 Destruction[i] and Death say,
‘We’ve heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.’
23 “God alone understands the way to wisdom;
he knows where it can be found,
24 for he looks throughout the whole earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 He decided how hard the winds should blow
and how much rain should fall.
26 He made the laws for the rain
and laid out a path for the lightning.
27 Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it.
He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.
28 And this is what he says to all humanity:
‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;
to forsake evil is real understanding.’”
Footnotes
- 24:19 Hebrew Sheol.
- 26:6a Hebrew Sheol.
- 26:6b Hebrew Abaddon.
- 26:9 Or covers his throne.
- 26:12 Hebrew Rahab, the name of a mythical sea monster that represents chaos in ancient literature.
- 27:18 As in Greek and Syriac versions (see also 8:14); Hebrew reads a moth.
- 28:13 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads knows its value.
- 28:19 Hebrew from Cush.
- 28:22 Hebrew Abaddon.
Job 24-28
New International Version
Job 24-28
New International Version
24 “Why does the Almighty not set times(A) for judgment?(B)
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?(C)
2 There are those who move boundary stones;(D)
they pasture flocks they have stolen.(E)
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge.(F)
4 They thrust the needy(G) from the path
and force all the poor(H) of the land into hiding.(I)
5 Like wild donkeys(J) in the desert,
the poor go about their labor(K) of foraging food;
the wasteland(L) provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodder(M) in the fields
and glean in the vineyards(N) of the wicked.(O)
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.(P)
8 They are drenched(Q) by mountain rains
and hug(R) the rocks for lack of shelter.(S)
9 The fatherless(T) child is snatched(U) from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized(V) for a debt.(W)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;(X)
they carry the sheaves,(Y) but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[a];
they tread the winepresses,(Z) yet suffer thirst.(AA)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.(AB)
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.(AC)
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,(AD)
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.(AE)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills(AF) the poor and needy,(AG)
and in the night steals forth like a thief.(AH)
15 The eye of the adulterer(AI) watches for dusk;(AJ)
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’(AK)
and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,(AL)
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.(AM)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors(AN) of darkness.(AO)
18 “Yet they are foam(AP) on the surface of the water;(AQ)
their portion of the land is cursed,(AR)
so that no one goes to the vineyards.(AS)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,(AT)
so the grave(AU) snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
the worm(AV) feasts on them;(AW)
the wicked are no longer remembered(AX)
but are broken like a tree.(AY)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow they show no kindness.(AZ)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;(BA)
though they become established,(BB) they have no assurance of life.(BC)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,(BD)
but his eyes(BE) are on their ways.(BF)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;(BG)
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;(BH)
they are cut off like heads of grain.(BI)
25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?”(BJ)
Bildad
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite(BK) replied:
2 “Dominion and awe belong to God;(BL)
he establishes order in the heights of heaven.(BM)
3 Can his forces be numbered?
On whom does his light not rise?(BN)
4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?(BO)
5 If even the moon(BP) is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes,(BQ)
6 how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—
a human being,(BR) who is only a worm!”(BS)
Job
26 Then Job replied:
2 “How you have helped the powerless!(BT)
How you have saved the arm that is feeble!(BU)
3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
And what great insight(BV) you have displayed!
4 Who has helped you utter these words?
And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?(BW)
5 “The dead are in deep anguish,(BX)
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
6 The realm of the dead(BY) is naked before God;
Destruction[b](BZ) lies uncovered.(CA)
7 He spreads out the northern skies(CB) over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.(CC)
8 He wraps up the waters(CD) in his clouds,(CE)
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
9 He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds(CF) over it.
10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters(CG)
for a boundary between light and darkness.(CH)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,(CI)
aghast at his rebuke.
12 By his power he churned up the sea;(CJ)
by his wisdom(CK) he cut Rahab(CL) to pieces.
13 By his breath the skies(CM) became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.(CN)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper(CO) we hear of him!(CP)
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”(CQ)
Job’s Final Word to His Friends
27 And Job continued his discourse:(CR)
2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,(CS)
the Almighty,(CT) who has made my life bitter,(CU)
3 as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God(CV) in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not say anything wicked,
and my tongue will not utter lies.(CW)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity.(CX)
6 I will maintain my innocence(CY) and never let go of it;
my conscience(CZ) will not reproach me as long as I live.(DA)
7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,(DB)
my adversary(DC) like the unjust!
8 For what hope have the godless(DD) when they are cut off,
when God takes away their life?(DE)
9 Does God listen to their cry
when distress comes upon them?(DF)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?(DG)
Will they call on God at all times?
11 “I will teach you about the power of God;
the ways(DH) of the Almighty I will not conceal.(DI)
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:(DJ)
14 However many his children,(DK) their fate is the sword;(DL)
his offspring will never have enough to eat.(DM)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
and their widows will not weep for them.(DN)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust(DO)
and clothes like piles of clay,(DP)
17 what he lays up(DQ) the righteous will wear,(DR)
and the innocent will divide his silver.(DS)
18 The house(DT) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,(DU)
like a hut(DV) made by a watchman.
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;(DW)
when he opens his eyes, all is gone.(DX)
20 Terrors(DY) overtake him like a flood;(DZ)
a tempest snatches him away in the night.(EA)
21 The east wind(EB) carries him off, and he is gone;(EC)
it sweeps him out of his place.(ED)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy(EE)
as he flees headlong(EF) from its power.(EG)
23 It claps its hands(EH) in derision
and hisses him out of his place.”(EI)
Interlude: Where Wisdom Is Found
28 There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.(EJ)
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.(EK)
3 Mortals put an end to the darkness;(EL)
they search out the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.(EM)
4 Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,(EN)
in places untouched by human feet;
far from other people they dangle and sway.
5 The earth, from which food comes,(EO)
is transformed below as by fire;
6 lapis lazuli(EP) comes from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.(EQ)
7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon’s eye has seen it.(ER)
8 Proud beasts(ES) do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.(ET)
9 People assault the flinty rock(EU) with their hands
and lay bare the roots of the mountains.(EV)
10 They tunnel through the rock;(EW)
their eyes see all its treasures.(EX)
11 They search[c] the sources of the rivers(EY)
and bring hidden things(EZ) to light.
12 But where can wisdom be found?(FA)
Where does understanding dwell?(FB)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;(FC)
it cannot be found in the land of the living.(FD)
14 The deep(FE) says, “It is not in me”;
the sea(FF) says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.(FG)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,(FH)
with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.(FI)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,(FJ)
nor can it be had for jewels of gold.(FK)
18 Coral(FL) and jasper(FM) are not worthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.(FN)
19 The topaz(FO) of Cush(FP) cannot compare with it;
it cannot be bought with pure gold.(FQ)
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?(FR)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds in the sky.(FS)
22 Destruction[d](FT) and Death(FU) say,
“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 God understands the way to it
and he alone(FV) knows where it dwells,(FW)
24 for he views the ends of the earth(FX)
and sees everything under the heavens.(FY)
25 When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,(FZ)
26 when he made a decree for the rain(GA)
and a path for the thunderstorm,(GB)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.(GC)
28 And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil(GD) is understanding.”(GE)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.