Job 10-13

Christian Standard Bible

10 I am disgusted with my life.^(A)
I will give vent to my complaint
and speak in the bitterness of my soul.
² I will say to God,
“Do not declare me guilty!
Let me know why you prosecute me.
³ Is it good for you to oppress,
to reject the work of your hands,^(B)
and favor^[a] the plans of the wicked?^(C)
4 Do you have eyes of flesh,
or do you see as a human sees?
⁵ Are your days like those of a human,
or your years like those of a man,^(D)
6 that you look for my iniquity^(E)
and search for my sin,
⁷ even though you know that I am not wicked
and that there is no one who can rescue from your power?^(F)

⁸ “Your hands shaped me and formed me.^(G)
Will you now turn and destroy me?
⁹ Please remember that you formed me like clay.
Will you now return me to dust?^(H)
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
¹¹ You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and wove me together with bones and tendons.^(I)
12 You gave me life and faithful love,
and your care has guarded my life.

¹³ “Yet you concealed these thoughts in your heart;
I know that this was your hidden plan:^[b]
14 if I sin, you would notice,^[c]
and would not acquit me of my iniquity.^(J)
15 If I am wicked, woe to me!
And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head.
I am filled with shame^(K)
and have drunk deeply of^[d] my affliction.^(L)
16 If I am proud,^[e] you hunt me like a lion
and again display your miraculous power against me.^(M)
17 You produce new witnesses^[f] against me
and multiply your anger toward me.
Hardships assault me, wave after wave.^[g]

¹⁸ “Why did you bring me out of the womb?^(N)
I should have died and never been seen.
¹⁹ I wish^[h] I had never existed
but had been carried from the womb to the grave.^(O)
20 Are my days not few? Stop it!^[i]
Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little
²¹ before I go to a land of darkness and gloom,^(P)
never to return.
²² It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness,
gloomy and chaotic,
where even the light is like^[j] the darkness.”

⁷ Can you fathom the depths of God
or discover the limits of the Almighty?^(U)
8 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?^(V)
9 Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.

¹⁰ If he passes by and throws someone in prison
or convenes a court, who can stop him?^(W)
11 Surely he knows which people are worthless.
If he sees iniquity, will he not take note of it?^(X)
12 But a stupid person will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a human!

¹³ As for you, if you redirect your heart
and spread out your hands to him in prayer—
¹⁴ if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—
¹⁵ then you will hold your head high, free from fault.
You will be firmly established and unafraid.^(Y)
16 For you will forget your suffering,
recalling it only as water that has flowed by.
¹⁷ Your life will be brighter than noonday;
its darkness^[l] will be like the morning.^(Z)
18 You will be confident, because there is hope.^(AA)
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.^(AB)

¹⁹ You will lie down with no one to frighten you,
and many will seek your favor.^(AC)
20 But the sight of the wicked^(AD) will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.^(AE)

⁴ I am a laughingstock to my^[n] friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.^[o]
The righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock.^(AG)
5 The one who is at ease^(AH) holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.
⁶ The tents of robbers are safe,^(AI)
and those who trouble God are secure;
God holds them in his hands.^[p](AJ)

⁷ But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.^(AK)
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you;
let the fish of the sea inform you.
⁹ Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?^(AL)
10 The life of every living thing is in his hand,
as well as the breath of all humanity.^(AM)
11 Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
¹² Wisdom is found with the elderly,
and understanding comes with long life.^(AN)

¹³ Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are his.^(AO)
14 Whatever he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
whoever he imprisons cannot be released.^(AP)
15 When he withholds water, everything dries up,
and when he releases it, it destroys the land.^(AQ)
16 True wisdom and power belong to him.
The deceived and the deceiver are his.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes judges go mad.^(AR)
18 He releases the bonds^[q] put on by kings^(AS)
and fastens a belt around their waists.
¹⁹ He leads priests away barefoot
and overthrows established leaders.^(AT)
20 He deprives trusted advisers of speech
and takes away the elders’ good judgment.
²¹ He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms^[r] the strong.
²² He reveals mysteries from the darkness
and brings the deepest darkness into the light.^(AU)
23 He makes nations great, then destroys them;
he enlarges nations,^(AV) then leads them away.
²⁴ He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.^(AW)
25 They grope around in darkness without light;
he makes them stagger like a drunkard.^(AX)

13 Look, my eyes have seen all this;
my ears^(AY) have heard and understood it.
² Everything you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.^(AZ)
3 Yet I prefer to speak to the Almighty
and argue my case before God.^(BA)
4 You use lies like plaster;
you are all worthless healers.^(BB)
5 If only you would shut up
and let that be your wisdom!

⁶ Hear now my argument,
and listen to my defense.^[s]
7 Would you testify unjustly on God’s behalf
or speak deceitfully for him?
⁸ Would you show partiality^(BC) to him
or argue the case in his defense?
⁹ Would it go well if he examined you?
Could you deceive him as you would deceive a man?^(BD)
10 Surely he would rebuke you
if you secretly showed partiality.
¹¹ Would God’s majesty not terrify you?^(BE)
Would his dread not fall on you?
¹² Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash;^(BF)
your defenses are made of clay.

¹³ Be quiet,^[t] and I will speak.
Let whatever comes happen to me.
¹⁴ I will put^[u] myself at risk^[v]
and take my life in my own hands.
¹⁵ Even if he kills me, I will hope in him.^[w]
I will still defend^(BG) my ways before him.
¹⁶ Yes, this will result in my deliverance,
for no godless person^(BH) can appear before him.
¹⁷ Pay close attention to my words;
let my declaration ring in your ears.
¹⁸ Now then, I have prepared my case;^(BI)
I know that I am right.
¹⁹ Can anyone indict me?
If so, I will be silent and die.

²⁰ Only grant these two things to me, God,
so that I will not have to hide from your presence:
²¹ remove your hand from me,
and do not let your terror frighten me.^(BJ)
22 Then call, and I will answer,^(BK)
or I will speak, and you can respond to me.
²³ How many iniquities^(BL) and sins have I committed?^[x]
Reveal to me my transgression and sin.
²⁴ Why do you hide your face
and consider me your enemy?^(BM)
25 Will you frighten a wind-driven leaf?
Will you chase after dry straw?
²⁶ For you record bitter accusations against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
²⁷ You put my feet in the stocks
and stand watch over all my paths,
setting a limit for the soles^[y] of my feet.

²⁸ A person wears out like something rotten,
like a moth-eaten garment.^(BN)