Beginning
24 “·I wish the Almighty would set a time for judging [L Why are times not kept by the Almighty/Shaddai?].
·Those who know God do [L Why do those who know God …?] not see such a day.
2 ·Wicked people [L They] ·take other people’s land [L move boundaries; C move boundary markers];
they steal flocks and ·take them to new pastures [L pasture them].
3 They chase away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox ·when she has no money [L as a pledge; Deut. 24:6, 10–13, 17].
4 They push needy people off the path;
all the poor of the land hide from them.
5 The poor become like wild donkeys in the ·desert [wilderness]
who go about their ·job of finding food [L work].
·The desert gives them [L In the desert they forage for] food for their children.
6 They ·gather hay and straw in the fields [L reap in fields not their own]
and ·pick up leftover grapes [L glean] from the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They spend the night naked, because they have no clothes,
nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
8 They are soaked from mountain ·rains [storms]
and ·stay near [hug; embrace] the ·large rocks [cliffs] because they have no shelter.
9 The ·fatherless child [orphan] is grabbed from its mother’s breast;
they take a poor mother’s baby ·to pay for what she owes [L as a pledge; 24:3].
10 So the poor ·go [wander] around naked without any clothes;
they carry bundles of grain but still go hungry;
11 they crush olives to get oil
and grapes to get wine, but they still go thirsty.
12 Dying people groan in the city,
and the ·injured [or living dead] cry out for help,
but God ·accuses no one of doing wrong [or does not hear/react to their prayers].
13 “Those who ·fight [rebel] against the light
do not ·know [recognize] God’s ways
or stay in his paths.
14 ·When the day is over [or At the light], the murderers get up
to ·kill [slay] the poor and needy.
At night they go about like thieves [Ex. 22:2].
15 ·Those who are guilty of adultery [L The eyes of the adulterer] watch for the ·night [dusk],
thinking, ‘No ·one [L eye] will see us,’
and they keep their faces covered [Prov. 7:6–9].
16 In the dark, evil people break into houses [v. 14].
In the daytime they ·shut [seal] themselves up in their own houses,
because they ·want nothing to do with [L do not know] the light.
17 Darkness is like morning to all these evil people
who ·make friends with [L recognize] the terrors of darkness.
18 “·They [The wicked] are ·like foam floating [or like scum; L quick] on the water.
Their ·part of the land [lot; portion] is cursed;
no one ·uses the road that goes by [L turns toward] their vineyards. [C This seems to contradict Job’s contention that the wicked escape judgment. Perhaps these are his opponents’ views, or his wish.]
19 As ·heat and dryness [the desert and heat] ·quickly melt the snow [L steal away the snow waters],
so ·the grave [L Sheol] quickly takes away the sinners.
20 ·Their mothers [L The womb] forget them,
and worms ·will eat their bodies [L think they are sweet].
They will not be remembered,
so wickedness is broken in pieces like a ·stick [L tree; C perhaps by wind or lightening; Ps. 29:5–6; Ezek. 17:24].
21 These evil people ·abuse women who cannot have children [or associate with barren women]
·and show no kindness to widows [or which is not favorable to their widow].
22 But God drags away the strong by his power.
Even though they ·seem strong [L rise up], they ·do not know how long they will live [L can have no confidence in life].
23 God may ·let these evil people feel safe [give them security they can lean on],
but ·he is watching [L his eyes are on] their ways.
24 For a little while they are ·important [exalted], and then ·they die [L are no more];
they ·are laid low [or give in] and ·buried [L are gathered/drawn in] like everyone else;
they ·are cut off [or wither] like the heads of grain.
25 If this is not true, who can prove I am ·wrong [L a liar]?
Who can show that my words are worth nothing?”
Bildad Answers
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “·God rules and he must be honored [L Rule/Dominion and dread are with him];
he ·set up order [establishes peace] in his high heaven.
3 ·No one can count God’s armies [L Is there a number to his troops?].
·His light shines on all people [L Upon whom does his light not rise?].
4 ·So no one can be good [What mortal can be righteous…?] in the presence of God,
and ·no one [who…?] born to a woman can be pure.
5 Even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes.
6 People are much less! They are like ·insects [L maggots].
They are only worms!”
Job Answers Bildad
26 Then Job answered:
2 “You are no help to the ·helpless [powerless]!
You have not ·aided [rescued] the ·weak [L weak armed]!
3 ·Your advice lacks wisdom [or You have brought no counsel to those without wisdom]!
You have shown little understanding!
4 ·Who has helped you say these words [L Whose words do you speak]?
And ·where did you get these ideas [L whose breath comes from you]?
5 “The ·spirits of the dead [shades; L Rephaim; C departed ancestors] tremble,
·those who are beneath and in the waters [L the waters and their inhabitants are terrified; C symbol for the forces of evil].
6 ·Death [L The grave; Sheol] ·is naked [lies exposed] before God;
·destruction [Abaddon; C the underworld] is uncovered before him [C God is in control of them].
7 God stretches ·the northern sky [or Zaphon; C a reference to Baal’s mountain; indicating God’s control over it] out over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in his thick clouds,
but the clouds do not ·break under their weight [L burst under them].
9 He covers the face of the ·moon [or throne],
spreading his clouds over it.
10 He draws the horizon like a circle on the water
at the place where light and darkness meet.
11 ·Heaven’s foundations [L The pillars of heavens; C perhaps mountains] ·shake [quake]
·when he thunders at them [L astounded by his rebuke/blast].
12 With his power he ·quiets [stills] the ·sea [or Sea; C the powers of chaos];
by his ·wisdom [understanding] he ·destroys [struck] Rahab, the sea monster [9:13].
13 He breathes, and ·the sky clears [L he makes the heavens beautiful].
His hand ·stabs [slays] the fleeing ·snake [serpent; C Leviathan, another sea monster representing chaos; 3:8; Is. 27:1].
14 And these are ·only a small part of God’s works [L fringes of his way].
We only hear a small whisper of him.
Who could understand God’s thundering power?”
27 And Job continued ·speaking [L his discourse]:
2 “·As surely as God lives [By the living God], who has ·taken away [turned aside] my rights,
·the Almighty [Shaddai], who has made me ·unhappy [bitter],
3 as long as ·I am alive [my breath is in me]
and God’s ·breath of life [L spirit; breath; Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7] is in my nose,
4 my lips will not speak ·evil [or falsehood],
and my tongue will not ·tell [L mutter] ·a lie [deceit].
5 ·I will never [Far be it from me to] ·agree [concede] you are right;
until I ·die [expire], I will never ·stop saying I am innocent [L turn aside my innocence].
6 I will ·insist that I am right [L embrace my righteousness]; I will not ·back down [weaken].
·My conscience will never bother me [L My heart will not reproach my days].
7 “Let my enemies be like evil people,
·my foes [those who rise up against me] like ·those who are wrong [the guilty].
8 What hope do the wicked have when they ·die [L are cut off],
when God ·takes their life away [requires their life]?
9 God will not listen to their cries
when trouble comes to them.
10 ·They will not [Will they…?] find joy in ·the Almighty [Shaddai],
·even though [or will…?] they call out to God all the time.
11 “I will ·teach [instruct] you about the ·power [L hand] of God
and will not ·hide [conceal] ·the ways of [L that which is with] ·the Almighty [Shaddai].
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
·So why are we having all this talk that means nothing [L Why have you become so meaningless/vaporous/vain]?
13 “Here is ·what God has planned for evil people [L the lot of evil people with God],
and ·that the Almighty will give to cruel people [L the inheritance that the cruel receive from the Almighty/Shaddai]:
14 They may have many children, but the sword will kill them.
Their ·children [L offspring] will never have enough ·to eat [L bread; food].
15 Then those who are left will die of disease and be buried,
and the widows will not even cry for them.
16 ·The wicked [L They] may heap up silver like ·piles of dirt [dust]
and ·have so many clothes they are like piles of clay [pile up clothes like mounds of earth/clay].
17 But ·good people [the righteous] will wear ·what evil people have gathered [L them],
and the innocent will ·divide up [distribute among themselves] their silver.
18 ·The houses the wicked build are [L They will build their houses] like a ·spider’s web [or moth’s cocoon],
like a ·hut [booth; shelter] that a guard builds.
19 ·The wicked are rich when they go to bed [L They may lie down wealthy],
but ·they are rich for the last time [L not again];
when they open their eyes, everything is gone.
20 ·Fears [Terrors] ·come over [overtake] them like ·a flood [waters],
and a storm snatches them away in the night.
21 The east wind will ·carry them away [L lift them up], and then they are gone,
because it sweeps them out of their place.
22 ·The wind [or God; L He; It] will hit them without mercy
as they ·try to run away [flee] from ·its power [or his power/hand].
23 It will be as if ·the wind [or God; L he; it] is clapping ·its [or his] hands;
·it [or he] will ·whistle [or hiss] at them as they run from their place [C clapping and hissing are gestures of contempt].
28 “There are mines where people dig silver
and places where gold is ·made pure [refined].
2 Iron is taken from the ·ground [dust],
and copper is ·melted out of [poured from the] rocks.
3 ·Miners [L They] ·bring lights [L put an end to darkness]
and ·search deep into the mines [L investigate every limit]
for ore in thick darkness.
4 They ·dig a tunnel [sink a shaft] far from where people live,
·where no one has ever walked [L a place forgotten by human feet];
they work far from people, ·swinging and swaying from ropes [L they sway suspended].
5 ·Food grows on top of the earth [L Bread/Food comes out of the earth],
but below ground things are ·changed [overturned] as if by fire.
6 ·Sapphires [or Lapis lazuli] are found in rocks,
and gold dust is also found there.
7 No ·hawk [bird of prey] knows that path;
the ·falcon [or black kite] has not seen it.
8 Proud animals have not walked there,
and no lions cross over it.
9 ·Miners [L They] ·hit [L put their hands to] the rocks of flint
·and dig away at the bottom of the mountains [upturning the mountains from their root].
10 They cut tunnels through the rock
and see all the ·treasures [precious things] there.
11 They ·search for places where rivers begin [or dam up the sources of the rivers]
and bring things hidden out into the light.
12 “But where can wisdom be found,
and where ·does understanding live [is understanding]?
13 People do not understand ·the value of wisdom [L its price];
it cannot be found ·among those who are alive [L in the land of the living].
14 The ·deep ocean [or Deep] says, ‘It’s not in me;’
the ·sea [or Sea; C the Deep and Sea may represent the forces of chaos] says, ‘It’s not in me.’
15 Wisdom cannot be bought with gold,
and its cost cannot be weighed in silver.
16 Wisdom cannot be bought with ·fine gold [L the gold of Ophir; 22:24]
or with ·valuable [precious] onyx or ·sapphire gems [or lapis lazuli].
17 Gold and ·crystal [or glass] ·are not as valuable as wisdom [L cannot match it],
and you cannot buy it with jewels of gold.
18 Coral and ·jasper [or crystal; C the identification of gems is often uncertain] are not worth talking about,
and the price of wisdom is much greater than ·rubies [or pearls].
19 The ·topaz [or chrysolite] from ·Cush [Ethiopia] cannot compare to wisdom;
it cannot be bought with the purest gold.
20 “So where does wisdom come from,
and where does understanding live?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
[L concealed] even from the birds of ·the air [L the sky; heaven].
22 ·The places of destruction [L Abaddon] and ·death [or Death; C the forces of the underworld] say,
‘We have heard reports about it.’
23 Only God understands the way to wisdom,
and he alone knows ·where it lives [L its place],
24 because he looks to the ·farthest parts [ends] of the earth
and sees everything under ·the sky [or heaven].
25 When God gave ·power [substance; L weight] to the wind
and measured the water,
26 when he made ·rules [or limits] for the rain
and set a path for a thunderstorm to follow,
27 then he looked at ·wisdom [L it] and ·decided its worth [L declared it];
he ·set wisdom up [L established it] and ·tested [or investigated] it.
28 Then he said to humans,
‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom [Prov. 1:7];
to ·stay [or turn] away from evil is understanding [Prov. 3:7].’”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.