Job 11-15

Evangelical Heritage Version

² Doesn’t this gush of words call for an answer?
Can this man’s bold talk be justified?
³ Should your empty words reduce men to silence?
Can you be allowed to scoff without anyone putting you in your place?
⁴ You say, “What I teach is untainted,
and I am pure in your eyes.”
⁵ Oh how I wish that God would speak up,
open his lips against you,
⁶ and show you the secret of wisdom,
because sound judgment must look at both sides.
Then you would know that God has even forgotten some of your guilt!

⁷ Can you explore the essence of God?
Can you find a limit to the perfections of the Almighty?
⁸ They are as high as the heavens. What can you do?
They are deeper than hell.^[a] What can you know?
⁹ His dimensions are greater than the earth
and wider than the sea.
¹⁰ If God comes and arrests someone and puts him on trial,
who can overrule him?
¹¹ Certainly he recognizes deceitful men for what they are.
He sees evil, and he recognizes it for what it is.

¹² Before an empty-headed man gets understanding,
a wild donkey colt will be born as a man.

¹³ But you, if you make your heart steadfast,
and you spread out your hands to him,
¹⁴ if you put away the sin you are holding in your hand,
and you do not allow injustice to dwell in your tents,
¹⁵ then you will lift up your face and be blameless.
You will be solid and fearless.
¹⁶ You will certainly forget your trouble.
Your memory of it will be like water that has flowed away.
¹⁷ The rest of your life will be brighter than noon.
Darkness will become like morning.
¹⁸ You will be confident that there is hope.
When you look around, you will go to bed confidently.
¹⁹ You will lie down, and no one will make you tremble.
Many will seek your favor.
²⁰ The eyes of the wicked will fail,
and their place of refuge will disappear.
Their hope will vanish with their dying breath.^[b]

² Yes, indeed. You are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
³ But I understand things as well as you.^[c]
I do not fall short of you.
Who doesn’t know all these things?

⁴ But I am a laughingstock to my neighbor—
I, who call on God, and he answers me—
I, a righteous and complete man, am a laughingstock!
⁵ Those who are carefree do not worry about disaster.
They think it is reserved for those whose feet are slipping.
⁶ The tents of raiders are undisturbed,
and those who provoke God are secure—
those who carry their god in their hand.^[d]

⁷ Please ask the animals, and they will teach you.
Ask the birds of the sky, and they will inform you.
⁸ Complain to the earth, and it will teach you,
and the fish of the sea will tell you about it.
⁹ Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord^[e] did this?
¹⁰ The life of every living thing is in his hand,
as well as the breath^[f] in all human flesh.

¹¹ Isn’t it true that the ear tests words
and the palate tastes food?
¹² Isn’t it true that wisdom is found among the aged
and understanding among those who have had a long life?
¹³ But wisdom and power are with God.
He gives guidance and understanding.
¹⁴ If he tears something down, it cannot be rebuilt.
If he shuts a door on a man, it cannot be opened.
¹⁵ Look! He holds back the waters, and the land dries up.
He turns them loose, and the earth is overwhelmed.
¹⁶ He has strength and sound judgment.
The deceiver and the deceived both belong to him.
¹⁷ He causes royal advisors to be led away naked.
He makes fools of judges.
¹⁸ He takes away the ruling power of kings,
and he wraps a loincloth around their waist.^[g]
19 He causes priests to be led away naked,
and he brings the pillars of society down to ruin.
²⁰ He closes the lips of trusted advisors,
and he takes away good judgment from elders.
²¹ He pours contempt on nobles.
He loosens the belt of the strong.
²² He uncovers deep mysteries that were hidden in darkness.
He brings the shadow of death into the light.
²³ He raises nations to power, and then he destroys them.
He enlarges nations, and then he leads them away captive.
²⁴ He deprives the heads of the peoples of the earth of their reason.
He makes them wander in a wild land where there are no roads.
²⁵ They grope around in darkness, where there is no light.
He causes them to wander aimlessly like drunks.

13 My eyes have certainly seen all this.
My ears have heard it and understood it.
² Whatever you know, I know every bit as well.
I do not fall short of you in any way.

³ But I want to speak to the Almighty.
I am eager to argue my case with God.
⁴ All you do is plaster over problems^[h] with lies.
Such useless healers, all of you!
⁵ I wish you would shut up completely.
For you, that would be wisdom!

⁶ But now, listen to my rebuttal.
Pay attention to the arguments from my lips.
⁷ Will you misrepresent God?^[i]
Will you speak deceitfully about him?
⁸ Will you show favoritism on behalf of God
and argue his case for him?
⁹ Will it turn out well when he cross-examines you?
Can you fool God as you can fool a man?
¹⁰ He will certainly rule against you if you hide your favoritism.
¹¹ Won’t God’s majesty frighten you?
Won’t the dread he inspires overwhelm you?
¹² Your axioms are proverbs made of ashes.
Your strong points are made of clay.

¹³ Silence! Let me speak.
I intend to speak up, no matter what happens.
¹⁴ Why do I bite my flesh with my teeth?
Why do I take my life in my hands?
¹⁵ Even if he slays me, I will wait for him with hope.^[j]
No matter what, I will defend my ways to his face.
¹⁶ Even this may turn out for my salvation,
for no godless person would dare to face him.
¹⁷ Listen carefully to my words!
Give my testimony a hearing.
¹⁸ Please, listen. I have laid out my case.
I know that I am innocent.
¹⁹ Who can make a case against me?
If anyone can, I will be quiet and die.

²⁰ Just do two things for me, God.
If you do, I will not hide from your face.
²¹ Take your hands off me,
and do not terrify me with your grandeur.^[k]
22 Summon me, and I will answer.
Or, I will speak, and you can respond to me.
²³ How much guilt and how many sins do I have?
Reveal my rebellion and my sin to me.
²⁴ Why do you hide your face?
Why do you treat me like your enemy?
²⁵ Will you toss me around^[l] like a wind-blown leaf?
Will you chase me away like dry chaff?
²⁶ You write bitter accusations against me,
and you hold me accountable for the guilt of my youth.
²⁷ You lock my feet in stocks
and station guards along all my paths.
You put your brand on the soles of my feet.

²⁸ So a man rots away like a garment eaten by moths.

14 Man born of woman has a few short days,
and they are full of anxiety.
² He blossoms like a flower, but soon withers.
He recedes like a shadow and does not remain.
³ You keep your eye on such a man.
You bring me^[m] into judgment in your presence.
⁴ Who can produce something pure from something that is impure?
No one.
⁵ Certainly his days are determined.
The number of his months has been set by you.
A limit is set, which he cannot exceed.
⁶ Turn your gaze away from him, and let him be,
until he finishes his day’s work as a hired man.

⁷ There is still hope for a tree if it is cut down.
It may grow up again and produce new shoots.
⁸ Though its roots lie dormant in the earth,
and its stump is dying in the dust,
⁹ with just a whiff of water, it shoots up again.
As a growing plant, it again sends out branches.
¹⁰ But if a man dies, he shrivels away.
When a person breathes his last, where is he?
¹¹ Waters evaporate from the sea.
A river dries up and becomes dust.
¹² In the same way, a man lies down and does not rise again.
Until the heavens pass away, he does not awaken,
and he is not aroused from his sleep.

¹³ Oh how I wish you would hide me in the grave,
that you would conceal me until your wrath has passed by,
that you would set an appointed time for me,
and then you would remember me.
¹⁴ If a man dies, will he live again?
Through all the days of my warfare,^[n]
I will wait, until change comes about for me.
¹⁵ You will call, and I myself will answer.
Then you will long for the work of your hands.

¹⁶ Now you count my steps,
but then you will no longer keep track of my sin.
¹⁷ My rebellious deeds will be sealed up in a bag,
and you will plaster over my guilt.

¹⁸ But as a mountain crumbles and falls,
and as a rock is moved from its place,
¹⁹ as water wears away stones,
and floodwaters wash away soil from the land,
so you destroy a man’s hope.
²⁰ You overpower him once and for all, and he passes away.
You change his appearance and send him away.
²¹ His sons are honored, but he is not aware of it.
They are brought low, but he does not realize it.
²² He feels the pain only of his own flesh,
and in his soul grieves only for himself.

² Does a wise man answer with windy bluster?
Does he fill his belly with the hot east wind?
³ Does he support his arguments with useless talk,
with words that provide no benefit?

⁴ But you even tear down reverence.
You hinder thoughtful reflection in the presence of God.
⁵ Your guilt instructs your mouth.
You choose deceptive language.
⁶ Your own mouth condemns you, not mine.
Your own lips testify against you.
⁷ Were you the first man to be born?
Were you brought forth before the hills?
⁸ Do you listen in on the council meetings of God?
Do you lay claim to all wisdom for yourself?
⁹ What do you know that we do not know as well?
What do you understand that we do not?
¹⁰ The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,
men older than your father.
¹¹ Are the consolations of God too small for you?
Do you think nothing of the gentle words spoken to you?
¹² Why does your heart carry you away?
Why do your eyes flash with such anger?
¹³ Why do you turn your spirit against God?
Why do you allow such words to pour out of your mouth?

¹⁴ What is man, that he could be pure,
or one born of woman, that he could be declared righteous?
¹⁵ If God does not trust in his holy ones,
and even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,
¹⁶ how much less man who is repulsive and corrupt,
who drinks down injustice like water!
¹⁷ Let me instruct you! Listen to me!
This is what I have seen. Let me tell you about it.
¹⁸ This is what wise men have declared,
wise men who hid nothing of what they had received from their fathers,
¹⁹     to whom alone the land was given,
        at a time when no foreigners were present in their midst.
²⁰ Through all his days, a wicked man writhes in pain,
throughout the whole number of years stored up for a tyrant.
²¹ Terrifying sounds echo in his ears.
In peacetime the plunderer arrives.
²² The wicked man does not believe that he will return from darkness.
He is sentenced to the sword.
²³ He wanders around looking for food and asks, “Where is it?”^[o]
He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.
²⁴ Pressure and distress terrify him.
They overpower him, like a king ready to attack,
²⁵ because he has stretched out his hand against God,
and he has been arrogant toward the Almighty.
²⁶ He charges at him defiantly^[p] with a thick shield.
²⁷ Though now his face is covered with its fat,
and his hips bulge with lard,
²⁸ he will live in ruined cities,
in abandoned houses, reduced to rubble.
²⁹ He will no longer be rich.
His wealth will not last.
His possessions will no longer cover the ground.
³⁰ He will not escape from darkness.
Flames will dry up his shoots.
With a breath from God’s mouth, he will depart.
³¹ He should not trust in useless things.
He should not fool himself.
His only reward will be useless things.
³² Before his time, he will be paid in full.
His palm branches will not be green.
³³ His grapes will be shaken from the vine before they are ripe.
He will be like an olive tree that loses its blossoms.
³⁴ In the end, the community of the godless produces nothing,
and fire consumes the tents of those who take bribes.
³⁵ They conceive trouble and give birth to disaster.
Their womb produces treachery.