Beginning
Job Answers Zophar
21 Then Job answered:
2 “Listen carefully to my words.
Let this be the way you comfort me.
3 Be patient while I speak.
After I have finished, you may continue to make fun of me if you wish.
4 “My complaint is not just against people.
I have reason to be impatient.
5 Look at me then and be shocked.
Put your hand over your mouth in shock.
6 When I think about this, I am terribly afraid.
My body shakes!
7 Why do evil people live a long time?
They grow old and become more powerful.
8 They see their children become strong around them.
They watch their children grow up.
9 Their homes are safe and without fear.
God does not punish them.
10 Their bulls never fail to mate.
Their cows have healthy calves.
11 Their children run and play like flocks of lambs.
Their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of tambourines and harps.
The sound of the flute makes them happy.
13 Evil people enjoy success during their lives.
Then they go down in peace to where the dead are.
14 But they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We don’t want to know your ways.
15 Who is God All-Powerful that we should serve him?
We would gain nothing by praying to him.’
16 But the wicked think they succeed by their own strength.
Their way of thinking is not godly.
17 Yet how often is the lamp of evil people turned off?
How often does trouble come to them?
How often do they suffer the punishment God plans in his anger?
18 How often are they like straw in the wind
or like chaff that is blown away by a storm?
19 It is said, ‘God saves up a man’s punishment for the man’s children.’
God should punish the evil person himself so he will know it.
20 His eyes should see his own destruction.
He should suffer the anger of God All-Powerful.
21 He does not care about the family he leaves behind
when his life has come to an end.
22 “No one can teach knowledge to God.
He is the one who judges even the most important people.
23 One man dies while he still has all his strength.
He feels completely safe and comfortable.
24 His body was well fed.
And his bones were strong and healthy.
25 But another man dies with an unhappy heart.
He never had any happiness.
26 These two men are buried next to each other.
And worms cover both of them.
27 “I know very well what you are thinking.
I know your plans to do wrong to me.
28 You say about me, ‘Now where is this great man’s house?
And where are the tents where the evil men lived?’
29 You have never asked those who travel.
You have not listened to their stories.
30 On the day of God’s anger and punishment,
it is the evil man who is spared.
31 Who will accuse him to his face?
No one pays him back for the evil he has done.
32 He is carried to his grave.
And someone keeps watch over his tomb.
33 The dirt in the valley will seem sweet to him.
Everybody follows after him.
Many people go before him.
34 “So you cannot comfort me with this nonsense.
Your answers are still only lies!”
Eliphaz Answers
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “A man cannot be of any real use to God.
Even a wise man does him no good.
3 It does not help God All-Powerful for you to be good.
He gains nothing if you are innocent.
4 God does not punish you for respecting him.
He does not bring you into court for this.
5 No! It is because your evil is without limits.
And your sins have no end.
6 You took your brothers’ things to pay a debt they didn’t owe.
You took clothes from people and left them naked.
7 You did not give water to tired people.
And you kept food away from the hungry.
8 You were a powerful man who owned land.
You were honored and lived in the land.
9 But you sent widows away without giving them anything.
You even mistreated orphans.
10 That is why traps are all around you.
That is why sudden danger frightens you.
11 That is why it is so dark you cannot see.
And that is why a flood of water covers you.
12 “God is in the highest part of heaven.
See how high the highest stars are!
13 But you say, ‘God knows nothing.
He cannot judge us through the dark clouds.
14 Thick clouds cover him so he cannot see us.
He walks around high up in the sky.’
15 Are you going to stay on the old path
where evil people walk?
16 They were carried away before their time was up.
Their foundations were washed away by a flood.
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
God All-Powerful can do nothing to us.’
18 But it was God who filled their houses with good things.
He did this even though their way of thinking was not godly.
19 “Good people can watch and be glad.
Innocent people can laugh at them and say,
20 ‘Surely our enemies are destroyed.
And fire burns up their wealth.’
21 “Obey God, and then you will be at peace with him.
This way you can be happy.
22 Accept teaching from his mouth.
Keep his words in your heart.
23 If you return to God All-Powerful, you will be blessed again.
Remove evil from your house.
24 Throw your gold nuggets into the dust.
Throw your fine gold to the rocks in the ravines.
25 Then God All-Powerful will be your gold.
He will be the best silver for you.
26 You will find pleasure in God All-Powerful.
And you will look up to him.
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you.
And you will keep your promises to him.
28 Anything you decide will be done.
And light will shine on your ways.
29 When terrible things happen to people, you will say, ‘Have courage.’
Then those who are humble will be saved.
30 Even the guilty will escape.
They will be saved because your hands are clean.”
Job Answers
23 Then Job answered:
2 “My complaint is still strong today.
God’s hand is heavy against me even though I am groaning.
3 I wish I knew where to find God.
I wish I could go to where he lives.
4 I would present my case before him.
I would fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words of his answer.
And I would think about what he would say.
6 He would not come against me with great power.
He would really listen to me.
7 Then an honest person could present his case to God.
And I would be saved forever from my judge.
8 “If I go to the east, God is not there.
And if I go to the west, I do not see him there.
9 When he is at work in the north, I catch no sight of him.
And when he turns to the south, I cannot see him.
10 But God knows the way that I take.
When he has tested me, I will come out pure as gold.
11 My feet have closely followed his steps.
I have stayed in his way without turning aside.
12 I have never left the commands he has spoken.
I have treasured his words more than my food.
13 “But he is the only God.
No one can come against him.
He does anything he wants.
14 He will do to me what he said he would do.
And he has many plans like this.
15 That is why I am so afraid before him.
When I think of all this, I am afraid of him.
16 God has made me afraid.
God All-Powerful has made me terribly afraid.
17 But I am not cut off by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.