Beginning
17 My spirit is broken;
the days of my life are ·almost gone [extinguished].
The grave is ·waiting [ready] for me.
2 Those who ·laugh [mock; scoff] at me surround me;
·I watch them insult me [L My eye dwells/lodges on their obstinate behavior].
3 “·God, make me a promise [L Make a pledge for me with yourself].
·No one will make a pledge for me [L Who else will clap hands with me; C a gesture that seals an agreement].
4 You have closed their minds to understanding.
·Do not let them win over me [L You will not let them triumph].
5 People might ·speak against [denounce] their friends for ·money [L a share; a piece of property],
but if they do, the eyes of their children ·go blind [L will fade].
6 “God has made my name a ·curse word [L proverb; byword; 1 Kin. 9:7; 2 Chr. 7:20; Ps. 44:14; Jer. 24:9; Ezek. 14:8; Joel 2:17];
people spit in my face.
7 My sight has grown ·weak [dim] because of my ·sadness [grief],
and my ·body [whole frame] is ·as thin as [L like] a shadow.
8 ·Honest [Virtuous] people are ·upset [depressed; desolated] about this;
·innocent [blameless] people are ·upset with [or aroused against] those who ·do wrong [or are godless].
9 But ·those who do right [the righteous] will ·continue to do right [L hold on to their way],
and those whose hands are ·not dirty with sin [L clean; C in a ritual sense] will grow stronger.
10 “But, all of you, come ·and try again [L back now]!
I ·do [or will] not find a wise person among you.
11 My days are gone, and my plans have been ·destroyed [L torn away],
along with the desires of my heart.
12 ·These men think night is [L They make night into] day;
·when it is dark, they say, ‘Light is near [L light is near the darkness].’
13 If the only home I hope for is ·the grave [L Sheol; C the place of the dead],
if I spread out my bed in darkness,
14 if I say to the ·grave [L pit], ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm, ‘You are my mother’ or ‘You are my sister,’
15 where, then, is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?
16 Will hope go down to the gates of ·death [L Sheol; 17:13]?
Will we go down together into the dust?”
Bildad Answers Job
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “·When will you stop these speeches [L How long before you stop these words]?
·Be sensible [or Reflect], and then we can talk [Prov. 15:28; 18:13; 29:20].
3 ·You think of [L Why do you consider/count] us as cattle,
as ·if we are stupid [L stupid in your eyes/estimation].
4 You tear ·yourself [your life] to pieces in your anger.
Should the earth be vacant ·just for [or because of] you?
Should the rocks move from their places [14:18]?
5 “The lamp of the wicked will be put out,
and the flame in their lamps will stop burning.
6 The light in their tents will grow dark,
and the lamps ·by their sides [or above them] will go out.
7 Their ·strong steps [vigorous gait] will grow ·weak [cramped; restricted];
·they will fall into their own evil traps [or their own schemes/advice will throw them down].
8 Their feet will be caught in a net [Prov. 28:9]
when they walk into ·its web [a snare].
9 A trap will catch them by the heel [Prov. 22:5]
and [L a noose] hold them tight.
10 A ·trap for them [L rope] is hidden on the ground,
right in their path.
11 ·Terrible things [L Terrors] startle them from every side
and ·chase [or disperse] them at ·every step [L their feet].
12 ·Hunger takes away their strength [or Calamity is hungry for them],
and disaster is ·at their side [or prepared for them when they stumble].
13 Disease eats away ·parts of their skin [or their fleshy limbs];
·death [L the firstborn of Death; C death is personified] ·gnaws at [consumes] their ·arms and legs [L limbs].
14 They are torn from the ·safety [confidence] of their tents
and ·dragged off to Death, the King of Terrors [L terrors march them off to their king].
15 ·Their tents are set on fire [or Nothing of theirs will remain in their tents],
and sulfur is scattered over their ·homes [or pastures].
16 Their roots dry up below ground,
and their branches die above ground [C the wicked are like a dead tree].
17 People on earth will not remember them;
their names will be forgotten in the land.
18 They will be driven from light into darkness
and ·chased [driven] out of the world [C they will die].
19 They have no children or descendants among their people,
and no one will be left alive where they once lived.
20 People ·of the west [or who come after] will be ·shocked [desolated] ·at what has happened to them [by their end/fate],
and people ·of the east [or who came before] will be ·very frightened [seized with horror].
21 Surely this is ·what will happen to [L the dwelling of] the wicked;
such is the place of one who does not know God.”
Job Answers Bildad
19 Then Job answered:
2 “How long will you ·hurt [torment] me
and crush me with your words?
3 You have ·insulted [disgraced; shamed] me ten times ·now [over]
and ·attacked me without shame [or are you not shamed to wrong me?].
4 Even if I have ·sinned [erred; made a mistake],
·it is my worry alone [L my sin/mistake lodges within me].
5 If you want to make yourselves ·look better than I [or powerful against me],
you can ·blame me for my suffering [make my shame/disgrace an argument against me].
6 Then know that God has ·wronged [or a distorted view of; unjustly blamed] me
and ·pulled [thrown] his net around me [C like a hunter].
7 “I shout, ‘·I have been wronged [L Violence]!’
But I get no answer.
I scream for help
but I get no justice.
8 God has ·blocked [walled up] my way so I cannot pass;
he has covered my paths with darkness [Prov. 4:19].
9 He has ·taken away [stripped off] my ·honor [glory]
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He beats me down on every side until I am gone;
he ·destroys [uproots] my hope like a fallen tree.
11 ·His anger burns [L He kindles his anger] against me,
and he ·treats [or considers] me like an ·enemy [foe].
12 His ·armies [troops] gather;
they ·prepare to attack [L build up a road against; C a siege ramp] me.
They camp around my tent.
13 “God has ·made my brothers my enemies [L moved my brothers far from me],
and my friends have become strangers.
14 ·My relatives [L Those near me] have ·gone away [or failed me],
and my ·friends [acquaintances] have forgotten me.
15 My guests and my ·female servants [T maidservants] ·treat [or consider] me like a stranger;
they look at me as if I were a foreigner.
16 I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even when I ·beg him with my own mouth [ask him for a personal favor].
17 My wife ·can’t stand [abhors] my breath,
and my own family ·dislikes me [finds me repulsive].
18 Even the little boys ·hate [L reject] me
and talk ·about [or against] me when I leave.
19 All my close friends ·hate [L detest] me;
even those I love have turned against me.
20 ·I am nothing but skin and bones [L My bones cling to my skin and my flesh];
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 Pity me, my friends, pity me,
because the hand of God has ·hit [touched; struck] me.
22 Why do you ·chase [pursue; persecute] me as God does?
·Haven’t you hurt me enough [L Aren’t you satisfied with my flesh]?
23 “How I wish my words were written down,
·written [L inscribed] on a scroll.
24 I wish they were carved with an iron pen ·into [L and] lead,
or carved into stone ·forever [or as a witness; C Job wants the following statement to last].
25 I know that my ·Defender [Redeemer; or defender; redeemer; C likely referring to God himself] lives,
and ·in the end [or at last] he will ·stand upon [rise up on] the earth [L dust].
26 Even after my skin has been ·destroyed [or peeled off],
·in [from; or without] my flesh I will see God.
27 I will see him myself;
I ·myself [L and not a stranger] will see him with my very own eyes.
How my heart ·wants that to happen [L fades/faints within me]!
28 “·If [or When] you say, ‘·We will continue to trouble Job [L How should we pursue/persecute him?],
because the ·problem [L root of the matter] lies with him,’
29 you should be afraid of the sword yourselves.
·God’s anger [L Wrath] will bring punishment by the sword.
Then you will know there is judgment.”
Zophar Answers
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “My ·troubled thoughts [distress; worries] cause me to ·answer [respond],
because ·I am very upset [L of the agitation within me].
3 You ·correct [instruct] me and I am ·insulted [shamed],
but ·I understand how to answer you [or a spirit beyond my understanding gives me an answer].
4 “·You [L Do you not…?] know how it has been ·for a long time [since time immemorial],
ever since ·people were first put [or he put people] on the earth.
5 The ·happiness [luxuriance; enjoyment] of evil people is brief,
and the joy of the ·wicked [L godless] lasts only a moment.
6 ·Their pride may be [L They may go] as high as the heavens,
and their heads may touch the clouds,
7 but they will ·be gone [perish] forever, like their own dung.
People who ·knew [L saw] them will say, ‘Where are they?’
8 They will fly away like a dream
and not be found again;
they will be ·chased away [put to flight] like a vision in the night.
9 ·Those who [L The eye that] saw them will not see them again;
the places where they lived will see them no more.
10 Their children will ·have to pay back [or run after] the poor,
and ·they will have to give up [L their hand will return] their wealth.
11 They had the strength of their youth in their bones,
but it will lie with them in the dust of death.
12 “Evil may taste sweet in their mouths,
and they may hide it under their tongues.
13 They ·cannot stand to [L fight/linger over it and do not] let go of it;
they ·keep it in their mouths [L hide it under their tongues].
14 But their food ·will turn sour [L turns over] in their stomachs,
like the poison of a ·snake [asp] inside them.
15 They have swallowed riches, but they will ·spit [vomit] them out;
God will make them ·vomit [disgorge] ·their riches up [L it from their bellies; Prov. 11:4; 21:6].
16 They will suck the poison of ·snakes [asps],
and the ·snake’s fangs [L viper’s tongue] will kill them.
17 They will not ·admire [L look at] ·the sparkling streams [or streams of oil]
or the rivers flowing with honey and ·cream [or butter; or curds].
18 They must give back ·what they worked for [their gains] ·without eating it [unswallowed];
they will not enjoy the ·money they made from their trading [or benefit of their reward],
19 because they ·troubled the poor and left them with nothing [L crushed and abandoned the poor].
They have ·taken [stolen] houses they did not build [Prov. 28:27; 29:7].
20 “Evil people never ·lack an appetite [L experience ease/comfort in their bellies],
and nothing ·escapes their selfishness [L they covet escapes them].
21 But nothing will be left ·for them to eat [or after they eat];
their riches will not continue.
22 When they still have plenty, ·trouble will catch up to them [L they will have distress],
and ·great misery [L all the force/hand of trouble] will come down on them.
23 When the wicked fill their stomachs,
God will send his burning anger against them,
·and blows of punishment will fall on them like rain [or raining it on them like their food].
24 The wicked may run away from an iron weapon,
but a bronze ·arrow [L bow] will ·stab [pierce] them.
25 They will pull the arrows out of their backs
and pull the points out of their ·livers [L gall bladders].
·Terrors [Dread] will come over them;
26 total darkness ·waits for their treasure [or is stored up for them].
A fire not fanned by people [C perhaps lightning] will ·destroy [L consume] them
and ·burn up [L horrible things will happen to] ·what is left of [or the survivors in] their tents.
27 The heavens will ·show [reveal] their guilt,
and the earth will rise up against them.
28 ·A flood will carry their houses away [or The possessions of their house will be taken away],
·swept away [L like the torrents] on the day of God’s anger.
29 This is ·what God plans for evil [L the lot/fate of guilty] people;
·this is what he has decided they will receive [L the inheritance decreed by God].”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.