Beginning

² ‘Someone must answer all these words that you have spoken.
You have talked a lot,
    but that does not mean that you are right.
³ Your proud words will not cause other people to say nothing.
    We must make you ashamed when you laugh at us.
⁴ You have said, “The things that I teach are true.
    God knows that I am a good man.”
⁵ So God himself should answer you.
    He should tell you what he thinks.
⁶ He would show you the secret of wisdom.
    True wisdom is not easy to understand.
But you must understand this:
    God is punishing you less than you deserve.
⁷ You cannot discover everything about God.
    You cannot know how powerful he is.
⁸ His power goes higher than the sky.
    You cannot do anything about that.
His power goes deeper than the place of death.
    You cannot know all about that.
⁹ The truth about God is wider than the whole earth.
    It goes far beyond the sea.
¹⁰ God may catch you and put you in prison.
    He may accuse you in a court.
Nobody can stop him doing that.
¹¹ God knows the people who are not honest.
    He sees the evil things that they do.
¹² Wild donkeys never give birth to human children.
    And foolish people never become wise!

¹³ As for you, Job, you should be faithful to God.
    Raise your hands and pray to God.
¹⁴ If you want to do an evil thing,
    stop yourself from doing it.
Do not let people do wrong things in your home.
¹⁵ Do what I say. Then you will not be ashamed any more.
    Instead, you will be strong. You will not be afraid.
¹⁶ You will forget about your trouble.
It will be like water that has disappeared.
    You will not remember it.
¹⁷ You will have a happy life
    that is brighter than the sun at noon.
Even if trouble makes it dark,
    it will still seem like a bright morning.
¹⁸ You will be safe as you trust God.
God will protect you.
    You will be able to rest safely.
¹⁹ When you lie down to sleep,
    you will not be afraid of anyone.
Many people will ask you to help them.

²⁰ But wicked people will not find any help.
    They cannot escape from their troubles.
They can only hope to die.’

² ‘You people think that you know everything.
    You think that there will be no wisdom after you die.
³ But I understand things as well as you.
    You are no better than I am.
Everyone knows the things that you have been saying.
⁴ I am a person who prayed to God and he answered me.
    But my friends now laugh at me.
I have always lived completely in the right way.
    But still my friends laugh at me.
⁵ Some people never have any troubles.
    They think that people who suffer are fools.
If people are in trouble,
    they knock them down!
⁶ But robbers seem to live in peace.
They cause God to be angry
    but they think that they are safe.
They trust their own strength as their god.

⁷ Ask the animals and they will teach you.
    The birds in the sky would tell you the truth.
⁸ Speak to the earth and it will teach you.
    The fish in the sea would tell you what is right.
⁹ Any of them could tell you that the Lord has done this.
¹⁰ He has authority over the life of all the animals.
    He gives breath to all people so that they can live.
¹¹ We use our mouths to taste food.
    And we use our ears to test what we hear.
¹² Old people are often wise.
    People who have lived for a long time understand things better.
¹³ God is wise and he is also powerful.
    He understands things and he gives good advice.
¹⁴ If God destroys something,
    nobody can repair it.
If God puts someone in prison,
    that person cannot escape.
¹⁵ If God stops the rain, the land becomes dry.
    If he sends lots of rain, there are floods.
¹⁶ God has strength and wisdom.
He has power over people who tell lies,
    and the people that they deceive.
¹⁷ He causes clever people to become ashamed.
    He causes leaders to do foolish things.
¹⁸ He takes authority away from kings.
    He dresses them like slaves.
¹⁹ He causes priests to become ashamed.
    He removes the power of important people.
²⁰ He stops faithful men from giving advice.
    He removes the wisdom of old men.
²¹ He causes rulers to be ashamed.
    He destroys the power of strong men.
²² He shows people things that have been secrets.
    He shines light into dark places.
²³ He can make nations become great.
    He can also destroy them.
He can make their land become bigger.
    He can also send their people away to other places.
²⁴ He stops the world's leaders from understanding things properly.
    He sends them to travel through empty deserts.
²⁵ They try to walk in the dark, without any light.
    He causes them to walk like drunk men.