² “Listen to me, you wise men.
    Pay attention, you who have knowledge.
³ Job said, ‘The ear tests the words it hears
    just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.’
⁴ So let us discern for ourselves what is right;
    let us learn together what is good.
⁵ For Job also said, ‘I am innocent,
    but God has taken away my rights.
⁶ I am innocent, but they call me a liar.
    My suffering is incurable, though I have not sinned.’

⁷ “Tell me, has there ever been a man like Job,
    with his thirst for irreverent talk?
⁸ He chooses evil people as companions.
    He spends his time with wicked men.
⁹ He has even said, ‘Why waste time
    trying to please God?’

¹⁰ “Listen to me, you who have understanding.
    Everyone knows that God doesn’t sin!
    The Almighty can do no wrong.
¹¹ He repays people according to their deeds.
    He treats people as they deserve.
¹² Truly, God will not do wrong.
    The Almighty will not twist justice.
¹³ Did someone else put the world in his care?
    Who set the whole world in place?
¹⁴ If God were to take back his spirit
    and withdraw his breath,
¹⁵ all life would cease,
    and humanity would turn again to dust.

¹⁶ “Now listen to me if you are wise.
    Pay attention to what I say.
¹⁷ Could God govern if he hated justice?
    Are you going to condemn the almighty judge?
¹⁸ For he says to kings, ‘You are wicked,’
    and to nobles, ‘You are unjust.’
¹⁹ He doesn’t care how great a person may be,
    and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor.
    He made them all.
²⁰ In a moment they die.
    In the middle of the night they pass away;
    the mighty are removed without human hand.

²¹ “For God watches how people live;
    he sees everything they do.
²² No darkness is thick enough
    to hide the wicked from his eyes.
²³ We don’t set the time
    when we will come before God in judgment.
²⁴ He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone,
    and he sets up others in their place.
²⁵ He knows what they do,
    and in the night he overturns and destroys them.
²⁶ He strikes them down because they are wicked,
    doing it openly for all to see.
²⁷ For they turned away from following him.
    They have no respect for any of his ways.
²⁸ They cause the poor to cry out, catching God’s attention.
    He hears the cries of the needy.
²⁹ But if he chooses to remain quiet,
    who can criticize him?
When he hides his face, no one can find him,
    whether an individual or a nation.
³⁰ He prevents the godless from ruling
    so they cannot be a snare to the people.

³¹ “Why don’t people say to God, ‘I have sinned,
    but I will sin no more’?
³² Or ‘I don’t know what evil I have done—tell me.
    If I have done wrong, I will stop at once’?

³³ “Must God tailor his justice to your demands?
    But you have rejected him!
The choice is yours, not mine.
    Go ahead, share your wisdom with us.
³⁴ After all, bright people will tell me,
    and wise people will hear me say,
³⁵ ‘Job speaks out of ignorance;
    his words lack insight.’
³⁶ Job, you deserve the maximum penalty
    for the wicked way you have talked.
³⁷ For you have added rebellion to your sin;
    you show no respect,
    and you speak many angry words against God.”

² “Do you think it is right for you to claim,
    ‘I am righteous before God’?
³ For you also ask, ‘What’s in it for me?
    What’s the use of living a righteous life?’

⁴ “I will answer you
    and all your friends, too.
⁵ Look up into the sky,
    and see the clouds high above you.
⁶ If you sin, how does that affect God?
    Even if you sin again and again,
    what effect will it have on him?
⁷ If you are good, is this some great gift to him?
    What could you possibly give him?
⁸ No, your sins affect only people like yourself,
    and your good deeds also affect only humans.

⁹ “People cry out when they are oppressed.
    They groan beneath the power of the mighty.
¹⁰ Yet they don’t ask, ‘Where is God my Creator,
    the one who gives songs in the night?
¹¹ Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals
    and wiser than the birds of the sky?’
¹² And when they cry out, God does not answer
    because of their pride.
¹³ But it is wrong to say God doesn’t listen,
    to say the Almighty isn’t concerned.
¹⁴ You say you can’t see him,
    but he will bring justice if you will only wait.^[a]
15 You say he does not respond to sinners with anger
    and is not greatly concerned about wickedness.^[b]
16 But you are talking nonsense, Job.
    You have spoken like a fool.”

² “Let me go on, and I will show you the truth.
    For I have not finished defending God!
³ I will present profound arguments
    for the righteousness of my Creator.
⁴ I am telling you nothing but the truth,
    for I am a man of great knowledge.

⁵ “God is mighty, but he does not despise anyone!
    He is mighty in both power and understanding.
⁶ He does not let the wicked live
    but gives justice to the afflicted.
⁷ He never takes his eyes off the innocent,
    but he sets them on thrones with kings
    and exalts them forever.
⁸ If they are bound in chains
    and caught up in a web of trouble,
⁹ he shows them the reason.
    He shows them their sins of pride.
¹⁰ He gets their attention
    and commands that they turn from evil.

¹¹ “If they listen and obey God,
    they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives.
    All their years will be pleasant.
¹² But if they refuse to listen to him,
    they will cross over the river of death,
    dying from lack of understanding.
¹³ For the godless are full of resentment.
    Even when he punishes them,
    they refuse to cry out to him for help.
¹⁴ They die when they are young,
    after wasting their lives in immoral living.
¹⁵ But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer.
    For he gets their attention through adversity.

¹⁶ “God is leading you away from danger, Job,
    to a place free from distress.
    He is setting your table with the best food.
¹⁷ But you are obsessed with whether the godless will be judged.
    Don’t worry, judgment and justice will be upheld.
¹⁸ But watch out, or you may be seduced by wealth.^[c]
    Don’t let yourself be bribed into sin.
¹⁹ Could all your wealth^[d]
    or all your mighty efforts
    keep you from distress?
²⁰ Do not long for the cover of night,
    for that is when people will be destroyed.^[e]
21 Be on guard! Turn back from evil,
    for God sent this suffering
    to keep you from a life of evil.

²⁶ “Look, God is greater than we can understand.
    His years cannot be counted.
²⁷ He draws up the water vapor
    and then distills it into rain.
²⁸ The rain pours down from the clouds,
    and everyone benefits.
²⁹ Who can understand the spreading of the clouds
    and the thunder that rolls forth from heaven?
³⁰ See how he spreads the lightning around him
    and how it lights up the depths of the sea.
³¹ By these mighty acts he nourishes^[f] the people,
    giving them food in abundance.
³² He fills his hands with lightning bolts
    and hurls each at its target.
³³ The thunder announces his presence;
    the storm announces his indignant anger.^[g]

¹ O God, we have heard it with our own ears—
    our ancestors have told us
of all you did in their day,
    in days long ago:
² You drove out the pagan nations by your power
    and gave all the land to our ancestors.
You crushed their enemies
    and set our ancestors free.
³ They did not conquer the land with their swords;
    it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory.
It was your right hand and strong arm
    and the blinding light from your face that helped them,
    for you loved them.

⁴ You are my King and my God.
    You command victories for Israel.^[b]
5 Only by your power can we push back our enemies;
    only in your name can we trample our foes.
⁶ I do not trust in my bow;
    I do not count on my sword to save me.
⁷ You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies;
    you disgrace those who hate us.
⁸ O God, we give glory to you all day long
    and constantly praise your name. Interlude

¹⁰ Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too.
    Quarrels and insults will disappear.

¹¹ Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech
    will have the king as a friend.

¹² The Lord preserves those with knowledge,
    but he ruins the plans of the treacherous.