Beginning
14 Man who is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.
2 He comes forth like a flower and withers; he flees also like a shadow and continues not.
3 And [Lord] do You open Your eyes upon such a one, and bring me into judgment with You?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!(A)
5 Since a man’s days are already determined, and the number of his months is wholly in Your control, and he cannot pass the bounds of his allotted time—
6 [O God] turn from him [and cease to watch him so pitilessly]; let him rest until he has accomplished as does a hireling the appointed time for his day.
7 For there is hope for a tree if it is cut down, that it will sprout again and that the tender shoots of it will not cease. [But there is no such hope for man.]
8 Though its roots grow old in the earth and its stock dies in the ground,
9 Yet through the scent [and breathing] of water [the stump of the tree] will bud and bring forth boughs like a young plant.
10 But [the brave, strong] man must die and lie prostrate; yes, man breathes his last, and where is he?
11 As waters evaporate from the lake, and the river drains and dries up,
12 So man lies down and does not rise [to his former state]. Till the heavens are no more, men will not awake nor be raised [physically] out of their sleep.
13 Oh, that You would hide me in Sheol (the unseen state), that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would set a definite time and then remember me earnestly [and imprint me on your heart]!
14 If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare and service I will wait, till my change and release shall come.(B)
15 [Then] You would call and I would answer You; You would yearn for [me] the work of Your hands.
16 But now You number each of my steps and take note of my every sin.
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You glue up my iniquity [to preserve it in full for the day of reckoning].
18 But as a mountain, if it falls, crumbles to nothing, and as the rock is removed out of its place,
19 As waters wear away the stones and as floods wash away the soil of the earth, so You [O Lord] destroy the hope of man.
20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his appearance [in death] and send him away [from the presence of the living].
21 His sons come to honor, and he knows it not; they are brought low, and he perceives it not.
22 But his body [lamenting its decay in the grave] shall grieve over him, and his soul shall mourn [over the body of clay which it once enlivened].
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered [Job],
2 Should a wise man utter such windy knowledge [as we have just heard] and fill himself with the east wind [of withering, parching, and violent accusations]?
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk? Or with speeches with which he can do no good?
4 Indeed, you are doing away with [reverential] fear, and you are hindering and diminishing meditation and devotion before God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yes, your own lips testify against you.
7 Are you the first man that was born [the original wise man]? Or were you created before the hills?
8 Were you present to hear the secret counsel of God? And do you limit [the possession of] wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we know not? What do you understand that is not equally clear to us?
10 Among us are both the gray-haired and the aged, older than your father by far.
11 Are God’s consolations [as we have interpreted them to you] too trivial for you? Is there any secret thing (any bosom sin) which you have not given up? [Or] were we too gentle [in our first speech] toward you to be effective?
12 Why does your heart carry you away [why allow yourself to be controlled by feeling]? And why do your eyes flash [in anger or contempt],
13 That you turn your spirit against God and let [such] words [as you have spoken] go out of your mouth?
14 What is man, that he could be pure and clean? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be right and just?
15 Behold, [God] puts no trust in His holy ones [the angels]; indeed, the heavens are not clean in His sight—
16 How much less that which is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water?
17 I will show you, hear me; and that which I have seen I will relate,
18 What wise men have not hid but have freely communicated; it was told to them by their fathers,
19 Unto whom alone the land was given, and no stranger intruded or passed among them [corrupting the truth].
20 The wicked man suffers with [self-inflicted] torment all his days, through all the years that are numbered and laid up for him, the oppressor.
21 A [dreadful] sound of terrors is in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him [the dwellings of robbers are not at peace].
22 He believes that he will not return out of darkness, and [because of his guilt] he is waited for by the sword [of God’s vengeance].
23 He wanders abroad for food, saying, Where is it? He knows that the day of darkness and destruction is already close upon him.
24 Distress and anguish terrify him; [he knows] they shall prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God and bids defiance and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty,
26 Running stubbornly against Him with a thickly ornamented shield;
27 Because he has covered his face with his fat, adding layers of fat on his loins [giving himself up to animal pleasures],
28 And has lived in desolate [God-forsaken] cities and in houses which no man should inhabit, which were destined to become heaps [of ruins];
29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his wealth last, neither shall his produce bend to the earth nor his possessions be extended on the earth.
30 He shall not depart out of darkness [and escape from calamity; the wrath of God] shall consume him as flame consumes a dry tree, and by the blast of His mouth he shall be swept away.
31 Let him not deceive himself and trust in vanity (emptiness, falseness, and futility), for these shall be his recompense [for such living].
32 It shall be accomplished and paid in full while he still lives, and his branch shall not be green [but shall wither away].
33 He shall fail to bring his grapes to maturity [leaving them to wither unnourished] on the vine and shall cast off blossoms [and fail to bring forth fruit] like the olive tree.
34 For the company of the godless shall be barren, and fire shall consume the tents of bribery (wrong and injustice).
35 They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, and their inmost soul hatches deceit.
16 Then Job answered,
2 I have heard many such things; wearisome and miserable comforters are you all!
3 Will your futile words of wind have no end? Or what makes you so bold to answer [me like this]?
4 I also could speak as you do, if you were in my stead; I could join words together against you and shake my head at you.
5 [But] I would strengthen and encourage you with [the words of] my mouth, and the consolation of my lips would soothe your suffering.
6 If I speak [to you miserable comforters], my sorrow is not soothed or lessened; and if I refrain [from speaking], in what way am I eased? [I hardly know whether to answer you or be silent.]
7 But now [God] has taken away my strength. You [O Lord] have made desolate all my family and associates.
8 You have laid firm hold on me and have shriveled me up, which is a witness against me; and my leanness [and wretched state of body] are further evidence [against me]; [they] testify to my face.
9 [[a]My adversary Satan] has torn [me] in his wrath and hated and persecuted me; he has gnashed upon me with his teeth; my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.
10 [The forces of evil] have gaped at me with their mouths; they have struck me upon the cheek insolently; they massed themselves together and conspired unanimously against me.(C)
11 God has delivered me to the ungodly (to the evil one) and cast me [headlong] into the hands of the wicked (Satan’s host).
12 I was living at ease, but [Satan] crushed me and broke me apart; yes, he seized me by the neck and dashed me in pieces; then he set me up for his target.
13 [Satan’s] arrows whiz around me. He slashes open my vitals and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground.
14 [Satan] stabs me, making breach after breach and attacking again and again; he runs at me like a giant and irresistible warrior.
15 I have sewed sackcloth over my skin [as a sign of mourning] and have defiled my horn (my insignia of strength) in the dust.
16 My face is red and swollen with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death [my eyes are dimmed],
17 Although there is no guilt or violence in my hands and my prayer is pure.
18 O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry have no resting-place [where it will cease being heard].
19 Even now, behold, my Witness is in heaven, and He who vouches for me is on high.(D)
20 My friends scorn me, but my eye pours out tears to God.
21 Oh, that there might be one who would plead for a man with God and that he would maintain his right with Him, as a son of man pleads with or for his neighbor!(E)
22 For when a few years are come, I shall go the way from which I shall not return.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation