Job 27-35

English Standard Version

² “As God lives, who has ^(B)taken away my right,
    and the Almighty, who has ^(C)made my soul bitter,
³ as long as my breath is in me,
    and ^(D)the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not speak ^(E)falsehood,
    and my tongue will not utter ^(F)deceit.
⁵ Far be it from me to say that you are right;
    till I die I will not put away my ^(G)integrity from me.
⁶ I ^(H)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
    my heart does not ^(I)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 (J)For what is the hope of the godless ^(K)when God cuts him off,
    when God takes away his life?
^9 (L)Will God hear his cry
    when distress comes upon him?
¹⁰ Will he ^(M)take delight in the Almighty?
    Will he call upon God at all times?
¹¹ I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
    ^(N)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 (O)“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
    and the heritage that ^(P)oppressors receive from the Almighty:
¹⁴ If his ^(Q)children are multiplied, it is for ^(R)the sword,
    and his descendants have not enough bread.
¹⁵ Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
    and his ^(S)widows do not weep.
¹⁶ Though he ^(T)heap up silver like dust,
    and pile up clothing like clay,
¹⁷ he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
    and ^(U)the innocent will divide the silver.
¹⁸ He builds his ^(V)house like a moth's,
    like ^(W)a booth that ^(X)a watchman makes.
¹⁹ He goes to bed rich, but will ^(Y)do so no more;
    he opens his eyes, and ^(Z)his wealth is gone.
^20 (AA)Terrors overtake him like ^(AB)a flood;
    in the night a whirlwind ^(AC)carries him off.
^21 (AD)The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
    it ^(AE)sweeps him out of his place.
²² It^[a] hurls at him ^(AF)without pity;
    he flees from its^[b] power in headlong flight.
²³ It ^(AG)claps its hands at him
    and ^(AH)hisses at him from its place.

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

⁹ “Man puts his hand to ^(AP)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 (AQ)“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 ^(AR)the land of the living.
^14 (AS)The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
¹⁵ It ^(AT)cannot be bought for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
¹⁶ It cannot be valued in ^(AU)the gold of ^(AV)Ophir,
    in precious ^(AW)onyx or ^(AX)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 ^(AY)coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above ^(AZ)(BA)pearls.
^19 (BB)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 ^(BC)all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
^22 (BD)Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

^23 (BE)“God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
²⁴ For he ^(BF)looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ When he ^(BG)gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain
    and ^(BH)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, ^(BI)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to ^(BJ)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 ^(BL)lamp shone upon my head,
    and by his light I walked through darkness,
⁴ as I was in my prime,^[d]
    when the ^(BM)friendship of God was upon my tent,
⁵ when the Almighty was yet with me,
    when my ^(BN)children were all around me,
⁶ when my steps were ^(BO)washed with ^(BP)butter,
    and ^(BQ)the rock poured out for me streams of ^(BR)oil!
⁷ When I went out to ^(BS)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 ^(BT)laid their hand on their mouth;
¹⁰ the voice of the nobles was hushed,
    and their ^(BU)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 ^(BV)delivered the poor who cried for help,
    and the fatherless who had none to help him.
^13 (BW)The blessing of him who was ^(BX)about to perish came upon me,
    and I caused ^(BY)the widow's heart to sing for joy.
¹⁴ I ^(BZ)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
    my justice was like a robe and ^(CA)a turban.
¹⁵ I was ^(CB)eyes to the blind
    and feet to the lame.
¹⁶ I was a father to the needy,
    and I searched out ^(CC)the cause of him whom I did not know.
¹⁷ I ^(CD)broke ^(CE)the fangs of the unrighteous
    and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
^18 (CF)Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my ^(CG)nest,
    and I shall multiply my days as ^(CH)the sand,
¹⁹ my ^(CI)roots spread out to ^(CJ)the waters,
    with the dew all night on my ^(CK)branches,
²⁰ my glory fresh with me,
    and my ^(CL)bow ever ^(CM)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 ^(CN)dropped upon them.
²³ They waited for me as for the rain,
    and they ^(CO)opened their mouths as for the ^(CP)spring rain.
²⁴ I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
    and ^(CQ)the light of my ^(CR)face they did not cast down.
²⁵ I chose their way and sat as chief,
    and I lived like ^(CS)a king among his troops,
    like one who comforts mourners.

30 “But now they ^(CT)laugh at me,
    men who are ^(CU)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,
    ^(CV)men whose ^(CW)vigor is gone?
³ Through want and hard hunger
    they ^(CX)gnaw ^(CY)the dry ground by night in ^(CZ)waste and desolation;
⁴ they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
    and the roots of the broom tree for their food.^[e]
5 (DA)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 ^(DB)the rocks.
⁷ Among the bushes they ^(DC)bray;
    under ^(DD)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 ^(DE)song;
    I am ^(DF)a byword to them.
¹⁰ They ^(DG)abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
    they do not hesitate to ^(DH)spit at the sight of me.
¹¹ Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
    they have cast off restraint^[f] in my presence.
¹² On my ^(DI)right hand the rabble rise;
    they push away my feet;
    they ^(DJ)cast up against me their ways of destruction.
¹³ They break up my path;
    they promote my ^(DK)calamity;
    they need no one to help them.
¹⁴ As through a wide ^(DL)breach they come;
    amid the crash they roll on.
^15 (DM)Terrors are turned upon me;
    my honor is pursued as by the wind,
    and my prosperity has passed away like ^(DN)a cloud.

¹⁶ “And now my soul is ^(DO)poured out within me;
    days of affliction have taken hold of me.
^17 (DP)The night ^(DQ)racks my bones,
    and the pain that ^(DR)gnaws me takes no rest.
¹⁸ With great force my garment is ^(DS)disfigured;
    it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
¹⁹ God^[g] has cast me into the mire,
    and I have become like ^(DT)dust and ashes.
²⁰ I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
    I stand, and you only look at me.
²¹ You have ^(DU)turned cruel to me;
    with the might of your hand you ^(DV)persecute me.
^22 (DW)You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
    and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
^23 (DX)For I know that you will bring me to death
    and to the house appointed for ^(DY)all living.

²⁴ “Yet does not one in a ^(DZ)heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
    and in his disaster cry for help?^[h]
25 Did not I ^(EA)weep for him whose day was hard?
    Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
²⁶ But ^(EB)when I hoped for good, evil came,
    and when I waited for light, ^(EC)darkness came.
²⁷ My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
    days of affliction ^(ED)come to meet me.
²⁸ I ^(EE)go about darkened, but not by the sun;
    I stand up in ^(EF)the assembly and cry for help.
²⁹ I am a brother of ^(EG)jackals
    and a companion of ^(EH)ostriches.
³⁰ My ^(EI)skin turns black and falls from me,
    and my ^(EJ)bones burn with heat.
³¹ My ^(EK)lyre is ^(EL)turned to mourning,
    and my ^(EM)pipe to the voice of those who weep.

⁵ “If I have walked with falsehood
    and my foot has hastened to deceit;
⁶ (Let me be ^(ES)weighed in a just balance,
    and let God know my integrity!)
⁷ if my step has turned aside from the way
    and ^(ET)my heart has gone after my eyes,
    and if any ^(EU)spot has stuck to my hands,
⁸ then let me ^(EV)sow, and another eat,
    and let what grows for me^[i] be rooted out.

⁹ “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,
    and I have ^(EW)lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
¹⁰ then let my wife ^(EX)grind for another,
    and let others ^(EY)bow down on her.
¹¹ For that would be a heinous crime;
    that would be an iniquity ^(EZ)to be punished by the judges;
¹² for that would be a fire ^(FA)that consumes as far as Abaddon,
    and it would burn to the root all my increase.

¹³ “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
    when they brought a complaint against me,
¹⁴ what then shall I do when God rises up?
    When he ^(FB)makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
¹⁵ Did ^(FC)not he who made me in the womb make him?
    And did not one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶ “If I have ^(FD)withheld anything that the poor desired,
    or have ^(FE)caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
¹⁷ or have eaten my morsel alone,
    and the fatherless has not eaten of it
¹⁸ (for from my youth the fatherless^[j] grew up with me as with a father,
    and from my mother's womb I guided the widow^[k]),
¹⁹ if I have seen anyone ^(FF)perish for ^(FG)lack of clothing,
    or the needy without ^(FH)covering,
²⁰ if his body has not ^(FI)blessed me,^[l]
    and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
²¹ if I have raised my hand against ^(FJ)the fatherless,
    because I saw my help in ^(FK)the gate,
²² then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
    and let my arm be broken from its socket.
²³ For I was ^(FL)in terror of calamity from God,
    and I could not have faced his ^(FM)majesty.

^24 (FN)“If I have made gold my ^(FO)trust
    or called ^(FP)fine gold my confidence,
²⁵ if I have ^(FQ)rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
    or because ^(FR)my hand had found much,
^26 (FS)if I have looked at the sun^[m] when it shone,
    or ^(FT)the moon moving in splendor,
²⁷ and my heart has been secretly enticed,
    and my mouth has kissed my hand,
²⁸ this also would be ^(FU)an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
    for I would have been false to God above.

²⁹ “If I have ^(FV)rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
    or exulted when evil overtook him
³⁰ (^(FW)I have not let my mouth sin
    by asking for his life with a curse),
³¹ if the men of my tent have not said,
    ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his ^(FX)meat?’
³² (^(FY)the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
    I have opened my doors to the traveler),
³³ if I ^(FZ)have concealed my transgressions ^(GA)as others do^[n]
    by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
³⁴ because I stood in great fear of ^(GB)the multitude,
    and the contempt of families terrified me,
    so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
³⁵ Oh, that I had one to hear me!
    (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty ^(GC)answer me!)
    Oh, that I had ^(GD)the indictment written by my adversary!
³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my ^(GE)shoulder;
    I would ^(GF)bind it on me as ^(GG)a crown;
³⁷ I would give him an account of all my steps;
    like a prince I would approach him.

³⁸ “If my land has cried out against me
    and its furrows have wept together,
^39 (GH)if I have eaten its yield without payment
    and made its owners ^(GI)breathe their last,
⁴⁰ let ^(GJ)thorns grow instead of wheat,
    and foul weeds instead of barley.”

“I am young in years,
    and you are ^(GO)aged;
therefore I was timid and afraid
    to declare my opinion to you.
⁷ I said, ‘Let days speak,
    and many years teach wisdom.’
⁸ But it is ^(GP)the spirit in man,
    ^(GQ)the breath of the Almighty, that makes him ^(GR)understand.
^9 (GS)It is not the old^[o] who are wise,
    nor the aged who understand what is right.
¹⁰ Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;
    let me also declare my opinion.’

¹¹ “Behold, I waited for your words,
    I listened for your wise sayings,
    while you searched out what to say.
¹² I gave you my attention,
    and, behold, there was none among you who refuted Job
    or who answered his words.
¹³ Beware ^(GT)lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom;
    God may vanquish him, not a man.’
¹⁴ He has not directed his words against me,
    and I will not answer him with your speeches.

¹⁵ “They are dismayed; they answer no more;
    they have not a word to say.
¹⁶ And shall I wait, because they do not speak,
    because they stand there, and answer no more?
¹⁷ I also will answer with my share;
    I also will declare my opinion.
¹⁸ For I am full of words;
    the spirit within me constrains me.
¹⁹ Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent;
    like new ^(GU)wineskins ready to burst.
^20 (GV)I must speak, that I may find ^(GW)relief;
    I must open my lips and answer.
²¹ I will not ^(GX)show partiality to any man
    or use flattery toward any person.
²² For I do not know how to flatter,
    else my Maker would soon take me away.

⁸ “Surely you have spoken in my ears,
    and I have heard the sound of your words.
⁹ You say, ‘I am ^(HG)pure, without ^(HH)transgression;
    I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.
¹⁰ Behold, he finds occasions against me,
    he ^(HI)counts me as his enemy,
¹¹ he ^(HJ)puts my feet in the stocks
    and ^(HK)watches all my paths.’

¹² “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you,
    for God is greater than man.
¹³ Why do you ^(HL)contend against him,
    saying, ‘He ^(HM)will answer none of man's^[p] words’?^[q]
14 For God ^(HN)speaks in one way,
    ^(HO)and in two, though man ^(HP)does not perceive it.
¹⁵ In ^(HQ)a dream, in ^(HR)a vision of ^(HS)the night,
    when ^(HT)deep sleep falls on men,
    while they slumber on their beds,
¹⁶ then he ^(HU)opens the ears of men
    and terrifies^[r] them with warnings,
¹⁷ that he may turn man aside from his ^(HV)deed
    and conceal pride from a man;
¹⁸ he keeps back his soul from the pit,
    his life from ^(HW)perishing by the sword.

¹⁹ “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed
    and with continual strife in his ^(HX)bones,
²⁰ so that his ^(HY)life loathes bread,
    and his appetite ^(HZ)the choicest food.
²¹ His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,
    and his bones that were not seen ^(IA)stick out.
²² His soul draws near ^(IB)the pit,
    and his life to ^(IC)those who bring death.
²³ If there be for him ^(ID)an angel,
    ^(IE)a mediator, ^(IF)one of the thousand,
    to declare to man what is ^(IG)right for him,
²⁴ and he is merciful to him, and says,
    ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;
    I have found ^(IH)a ransom;
²⁵ let his flesh ^(II)become fresh with youth;
    let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;
²⁶ then man^{[s] (IJ)}prays to God, and he accepts him;
    he ^(IK)sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he ^(IL)restores to man his righteousness.
²⁷     He sings before men and says:
‘I ^(IM)sinned and perverted what was right,
    and it was not repaid to me.
²⁸ He has redeemed my ^(IN)soul from going down ^(IO)into the pit,
    and my life shall ^(IP)look upon the light.’

²⁹ “Behold, God does all these things,
    twice, ^(IQ)three times, with a man,
³⁰ to bring back his soul from the pit,
    that he may be lighted with ^(IR)the light of life.
³¹ Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;
    be silent, and I will speak.
³² If you have any words, ^(IS)answer me;
    ^(IT)speak, for I desire to justify you.
³³ If not, ^(IU)listen to me;
    be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

² “Hear my words, you wise men,
    and give ear to me, you who know;
³ for ^(IV)the ear tests words
    as the palate tastes food.
⁴ Let us choose ^(IW)what is right;
    let us know among ourselves what is good.
⁵ For Job has said, ‘I am ^(IX)in the right,
    and ^(IY)God has taken away my right;
⁶ in spite of my right I am counted a liar;
    my wound is incurable, though I am ^(IZ)without transgression.’
⁷ What man is like Job,
    who ^(JA)drinks up scoffing like water,
⁸ who travels in company with evildoers
    and walks ^(JB)with wicked men?
⁹ For ^(JC)he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
    that he should take delight in God.’

¹⁰ “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:
    far be it from God that he should ^(JD)do wickedness,
    and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
¹¹ For according to ^(JE)the work of a man he will repay him,
    and ^(JF)according to his ways he will make it befall him.
¹² Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
    and ^(JG)the Almighty will not pervert justice.
¹³ Who gave him charge over the earth,
    and who ^(JH)laid on him^[t] the whole world?
¹⁴ If he should ^(JI)set his heart to it
    and ^(JJ)gather to himself his ^(JK)spirit and his breath,
¹⁵ all flesh would perish together,
    and man would ^(JL)return to dust.

¹⁶ “If you have understanding, hear this;
    listen to what I say.
^17 (JM)Shall one who hates justice govern?
    Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,
¹⁸ who ^(JN)says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
    and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’
¹⁹ who ^(JO)shows no partiality to princes,
    nor regards the rich ^(JP)more than the poor,
    for ^(JQ)they are all the work of his hands?
²⁰ In a moment ^(JR)they die;
    at ^(JS)midnight the people are shaken and pass away,
    and the mighty are taken away by ^(JT)no human hand.

²¹ “For his eyes are on ^(JU)the ways of a man,
    and he sees all his ^(JV)steps.
²² There is no ^(JW)gloom or ^(JX)deep darkness
    where evildoers may hide themselves.
²³ For God^[u] has no need to consider a man further,
    that he should go before God in ^(JY)judgment.
²⁴ He ^(JZ)shatters the mighty without investigation
    and sets ^(KA)others in their place.
²⁵ Thus, knowing their works,
    he ^(KB)overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
²⁶ He strikes them for their wickedness
    in a place for all to see,
²⁷ because they turned aside from ^(KC)following him
    and had no regard for any of his ways,
²⁸ so that they ^(KD)caused the cry of the poor to come to him,
    and he ^(KE)heard the cry of the afflicted—
²⁹ When he is quiet, who can condemn?
    When he hides his face, who can behold him,
    whether it be a nation or a man?—
³⁰ that a godless man should not reign,
    that he should not ensnare the people.

³¹ “For has anyone said to God,
    ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;
^32 (KF)teach me what I do not see;
    if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
³³ Will he then make repayment to suit you,
    because you reject it?
For you must choose, and not I;
    therefore ^(KG)declare what you know.^[v]
34 Men of understanding will say to me,
    and the wise man who hears me will say:
³⁵ ‘Job ^(KH)speaks without knowledge;
    his words are without insight.’
³⁶ Would that Job were tried to the end,
    because he answers like wicked men.
³⁷ For he adds rebellion to his sin;
    he ^(KI)claps his hands among us
    and multiplies his words against God.”

² “Do you think this to be just?
    Do you say, ^(KJ)‘It is my right before God,’
³ that you ask, ^(KK)‘What advantage have I?
    How am I better off than if I had sinned?’
⁴ I will answer you
    and ^(KL)your friends with you.
^5 (KM)Look at the heavens, and see;
    and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.
⁶ If you have sinned, ^(KN)what do you accomplish against him?
    And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
^7 (KO)If you are righteous, what do you give to him?
    Or what does he receive from your hand?
⁸ Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself,
    and your righteousness ^(KP)a son of man.

⁹ “Because of the multitude of ^(KQ)oppressions people ^(KR)cry out;
    they call for help because of the arm of ^(KS)the mighty.^[w]
10 But none says, ‘Where is God my ^(KT)Maker,
    who gives ^(KU)songs in the night,
¹¹ who teaches us ^(KV)more than the beasts of the earth
    and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’