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17 “I will show you, listen to me;
and what I have seen, I will tell[a]
18 what wise men have told,
and they have not hidden that which is from their ancestors,
19 to whom alone[b] the land was given,
and no stranger passed through their midst.
20 “All of the wicked one’s days he is writhing,
even[c] through the number of years that are laid up for the tyrant.
21 Sounds of terror are in his ears;
in prosperity the destroyer will come against him.
22 He cannot trust that he will return[d] from darkness,
and he himself[e] is destined for the sword.
23 “He is wandering for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is ready at hand.[f]
24 Anguish and distress terrify him;
they[g] overpower him like a king ready for the battle.
25 Because he stretched out his hand against God,
and he was arrogant to Shaddai;
26 he stubbornly[h] runs against him
with his thick-bossed shield.[i]
27 “Because he has covered his face with his fat
and has gathered fat upon his loins,
28 he will dwell[j] in desolate cities,
in houses that they should not inhabit,
which are destined for rubble.
29 He will not become rich, and his wealth will not endure,
and their possessions will not stretch across the earth.[k]
30 “He will not escape from darkness;
a flame will dry up his new shoot,
and by the wind of his mouth he shall be removed.
31 Let him not trust in emptiness—he will be deceiving himself—
for worthlessness will be his recompense.
32 It will be paid in full before his time,[l]
and his branch will not flourish.
33 “He will shake off his unripe fruit like the vine,
and he will cast off his blossom like the olive tree;
34 for the company of the godless is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes.
35 They conceive trouble and bring forth mischief,
and their womb prepares deceit.”

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Footnotes

  1. Job 15:17 Literally “and I will tell”
  2. Job 15:19 Literally “to them to alone them”
  3. Job 15:20 Hebrew “and”
  4. Job 15:22 Literally “He cannot trust to return,” or “He is not certain to return,” or “He cannot be sure to return” (compare NJPS)
  5. Job 15:22 Emphatic personal pronoun
  6. Job 15:23 Hebrew “at his hand”; the meaning seems to be, “his ruin is certain”
  7. Job 15:24 Hebrew “it”
  8. Job 15:26 Literally “with neck”
  9. Job 15:26 Literally “with the thickness of the boss of his shield”
  10. Job 15:28 Hebrew “and he will dwell”
  11. Job 15:29 See HCSB, ESV; or “will not reach to the earth”; perhaps “his possessions will not go to the underworld”
  12. Job 15:32 Literally “in not his day,” or “without his day”

17 “I will show you, listen to me;
    that which I have seen I will declare
18 (which wise men have told by their fathers,
    and have not hidden it;
19 to whom alone the land was given,
    and no stranger passed among them):
20 the wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
    even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor.
21 A sound of terrors is in his ears.
    In prosperity the destroyer will come on him.
22 He doesn’t believe that he will return out of darkness.
    He is waited for by the sword.
23 He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
    He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24 Distress and anguish make him afraid.
    They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God,
    and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty,
26 he runs at him with a stiff neck,
    with the thick shields of his bucklers,
27 because he has covered his face with his fatness,
    and gathered fat on his thighs.
28 He has lived in desolate cities,
    in houses which no one inhabited,
    which were ready to become heaps.
29 He will not be rich, neither will his substance continue,
    neither will their possessions be extended on the earth.
30 He will not depart out of darkness.
    The flame will dry up his branches.
    He will go away by the breath of God’s mouth.
31 Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
    for emptiness will be his reward.
32 It will be accomplished before his time.
    His branch will not be green.
33 He will shake off his unripe grape as the vine,
    and will cast off his flower as the olive tree.
34 For the company of the godless will be barren,
    and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief and produce iniquity.
    Their heart prepares deceit.”

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