Beginning
14 “·All of us [L Human beings; T Man] born ·to women [T of woman]
·live only a few [L are short of] days and ·have lots [full] of trouble.
2 ·We [L They] grow up like flowers and then ·dry up and die [L wither].
·We are like a passing [L …and flee like a] shadow that does not last.
3 Lord, do you need to watch me like this?
Must you bring me before you to be judged?
4 No one can bring something clean [C in a ritual sense] from something unclean.
5 ·Our [L If their] time is limited.
You have given ·us [L them] only so many months to live
and have set limits ·we [L they] cannot go beyond.
6 So look away from us and ·leave us alone [stop; desist]
until we put in our time like a laborer [C until death].
7 “If a tree is cut down,
there is hope that it will grow again
and will send out new ·branches [shoots].
8 Even if its roots grow old in the ground,
and its stump dies in the ·dirt [dust],
9 at the ·smell [scent] of water it will bud
and put out new ·shoots [boughs] like a plant.
10 But ·we [L mortals] die, and ·our bodies are laid in the ground [L dwindle away];
·we take our last breath [L humans expire] and are ·gone [L no more; C unlike trees, humans do not come back to life].
11 Water disappears from a ·lake [sea],
and a river ·loses its water and dries up [L dries up and withers away].
12 In the same way, ·we [L humans] lie down and do not rise again;
·we [L they] will not get up or be awakened
until the heavens disappear [C that is, never].
13 “I wish you would hide me in ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld];
·hide [conceal] me until your anger is gone.
I wish you would set a ·time [limit]
and then remember me!
14 Will the dead live again [C the implied answer is no]?
All my days are ·a struggle [L hard service];
I will wait until my ·change [L release] comes.
15 You ·will call [L would summon me], and I ·will [or would] answer you;
you ·will [or would] desire the ·creature your hands have made [L work of your hands].
16 ·Then [or Now] you ·will count [count] my steps [C meaning God would focus negatively on Job’s sin],
but you ·will [or would] not keep track of my sin [C in a hypothetical future].
17 My wrongs ·will [or would] be closed up in a bag,
and you ·will [or would] cover up my sin.
18 “A mountain ·washes [L falls] away and crumbles;
and a rock can be moved from its place.
19 Water ·washes over stones and wears them down [L grinds down the stones],
and ·rushing waters [or violent storms] wash away the ·dirt [dust].
In the same way, you destroy hope.
20 You ·defeat [overpower] people forever, and they are gone;
you change their appearance [C from joy to despair] and send them away.
21 Their children are honored, but they do not know it [C because they, the parents, are dead or dying];
their children are ·disgraced [lowered], but they [C the parents] do not see it.
22 They [C the parents] only feel the pain of their ·body [L flesh]
and ·feel sorry [mourn] for themselves.”
Eliphaz Answers Job
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “·A wise person would not [L Should a wise person…?] answer with ·empty [L windy] words
or fill his stomach with the hot east wind.
3 ·He would not [L Should he…?] ·argue [reprimand; reprove] with useless words
or make speeches that have no value.
4 But you even ·destroy [invalidate] ·respect for God [L fear]
and limit the worship of him.
5 Your ·sin [iniquity] teaches your mouth what to say;
you ·use words to trick others [L choose the tongue of the crafty].
6 It is your own mouth, not mine, that ·shows you are wicked [condemns];
your own lips testify against you.
7 “·You are not [L Are you…?] the first man ever born [C perhaps a reference to Adam; Ezek. 28:12–13];
·you are not [L are you…?] older than the hills [C either a reference to the wisdom of the elders or to wisdom personified as a woman; Prov. 8:22–25].
8 ·You did not [L Did you…?] listen in on God’s secret council [C like a prophet].
But you limit wisdom to yourself.
9 ·You don’t [L Do you…?] know any more than we know.
·You don’t [L Do you…?] understand any more than we understand.
10 Old people with gray hair are on our side;
they are even older than your father.
11 Is the ·comfort [consolation] God gives you not enough for you,
even when words are spoken gently to you?
12 Has your heart ·carried you away from God [L taken you away; C perhaps suggesting that Job has lost control of his emotions]?
Why do your eyes ·flash with anger [or wink]?
13 Why do you ·speak out your anger [L turn your spirit] against God?
Why do these words pour out of your mouth?
14 “How can anyone be pure?
How can someone born to a woman be ·good [righteous]?
15 God places no trust in his holy ones [C angels],
and even the heavens are not pure in his eyes.
16 How much less pure is one who is ·terrible [abominable] and ·rotten [corrupt]
and drinks up ·evil [injustice] as if it were water [Prov. 4:17–19]!
17 “Listen to me, and I will tell you about it;
I will ·tell [recount to] you what I have seen.
18 These are things wise men have told;
their ancestors told them, and they have hidden nothing.
19 (The land was given to their fathers only,
and no ·foreigner [stranger] lived among them [C suggesting wisdom untainted by foreign influence].)
20 The wicked suffer pain all their lives;
the cruel suffer during all the years saved up for them.
21 Terrible sounds ·fill [reach; L are in] their ears,
and when things ·seem to be going well [are at peace], ·robbers [or destroyers] attack them.
22 Evil people ·give up trying [L cannot hope] to ·escape [L return] from the darkness;
it has been decided that they will die by the sword.
23 They wander around ·and will become food for vultures [or for food, saying “Where is it?”].
They know [L a day of] darkness ·will soon come [L is prepared for them].
24 ·Worry [Distress] and ·suffering [hardship] terrify them;
they overwhelm them, like a king ready to attack,
25 because they ·shake their fists at [L stretched their hands against; Ex. 6:6; Deut. 4:34] God
and ·try to get their own way against [defy] ·the Almighty [Shaddai].
26 They ·stubbornly [defiantly] charge at God
with ·thick, strong [L thick-bossed; C the boss is the convex centerpiece] shields.
27 “Although the faces of the wicked are thick with fat [C a sign of prosperity, but here the result of ill-gotten gain],
and their ·bellies [or loins] are fat with ·flesh [blubber],
28 they will live in towns that are ruined,
in houses where no one lives,
·which are crumbling into ruins [L destined to become a ruin heap].
29 The wicked will no longer ·get [or be] rich,
and the riches they have will not last [Ps. 73; Prov. 11:18; 13:11; 21:6; 22:16]
the things they own will no longer spread over the land.
30 They will not ·escape [L turn aside from] the darkness.
A flame will dry up their ·branches [shoots];
God’s breath will carry the wicked away.[a]
31 The wicked should not fool themselves by trusting what is useless.
If they do, they will get nothing in return [C “useless” and “nothing” are the same Hebrew word].
32 Their branches will dry up ·before they finish growing [L out of season]
and will never turn green.
33 They will be like a vine whose grapes ·are pulled [shake] off before they are ripe,
like an olive tree that ·loses [throws off] its blossoms.
34 ·People without God [L The assembly of the godless] ·can produce nothing [L are barren].
Fire will ·destroy [consume] the tents of those who take ·money to do evil [L bribes],
35 who ·plan [L conceive] trouble and give birth to evil,
whose ·hearts [L womb] plan ways to ·trick [L defraud; Ps. 7:14; Is. 59:4] others.”
Job Answers Eliphaz
16 Then Job answered:
2 “I have heard many things like these.
You are all ·painful [or troublesome] comforters!
3 Will your ·long-winded speeches [L windy words] never end?
What ·makes [L provokes] you keep on ·arguing [L responding]?
4 I also could speak as you do
if you were in my place.
I could ·make great speeches [L join words] against you
and shake my head at you [C like wagging a finger at someone].
5 But, instead, I would ·encourage you [L strengthen you with my mouth],
and ·my words [L the words of my lips] would bring you ·relief [comfort].
6 “Even if I speak, my pain is not less,
and if I don’t speak, it still does not go away.
7 ·God, you have [L He has] surely ·taken away my strength [worn me out]
and ·destroyed [or stunned] ·my whole family [or everyone around me; L my assembly].
8 You have ·made me thin and weak [shriveled me up; or bound me],
·and this shows I have done wrong [L as a witness against me].
9 God ·attacks me and tears me with anger [L preys on me and hates me];
he ·grinds [gnashes] his teeth at me;
my enemy ·stares at me with his angry eyes [L sharpens his eyes at me].
10 People open their mouths ·to make fun of [L wide at] me
and hit my cheeks to ·insult [or reproach] me.
They ·join [congregate; assemble] together against me.
11 God has turned me over to evil people
and has ·handed [thrown] me over to the wicked.
12 ·Everything was fine with me [L I was at ease],
but God ·broke me into pieces [shattered me];
he ·held [grabbed; seized] me by the neck and ·crushed [mauled] me.
He has ·made me [set me up as] his target;
13 his archers surround me.
He ·stabs [L splits open] my kidneys without mercy;
he spills my ·blood [L gall] on the ground.
14 ·Again and again God attacks me [L He breaches me, breach after breach];
he runs at me like a soldier.
15 “I have sewed ·rough cloth over my skin to show my sadness [sackcloth over my skin; C traditional mourning clothes]
and have buried my ·face [L horn] in the dust [C a sign of grief; like an animal lowering its horn].
16 My face is red from crying;
I have ·dark circles [deep darkness] around my eyes.
17 Yet my hands have never done anything ·cruel [violent],
and my prayer is pure.
18 “Earth, please do not cover up my blood.
Don’t let my cry ever ·stop being heard [find a place of rest]!
19 Even now I have ·one who speaks for me [L a witness] in heaven;
the one who ·is on my side [L testifies for me] is high above.
20 ·The one who speaks for me is my friend [or My friends scorn me].
My eyes pour out tears to God.
21 He ·begs God [negotiates/arbitrates with God] on behalf of a human
as a person ·begs for [negotiates/arbitrates with] his friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass
before I go on the journey of no return [C at his death].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.