Beginning
Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs
24 “(A)Why are [a]times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not see (B)His days?
2 “[b]Some (C)remove the landmarks;
They seize and [c]devour flocks.
3 “They drive away the donkeys of the (D)orphans;
They take the (E)widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 “They push (F)the needy aside from the road;
The (G)poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.
5 “Behold, as (H)wild donkeys in the wilderness
They (I)go forth seeking food in their activity,
As [d]bread for their children in the desert.
6 “They harvest their fodder in the field
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7 “(J)They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.
8 “They are wet with the mountain rains
And hug the rock for want of a shelter.
9 “[e]Others snatch the (K)orphan from the breast,
And against the poor they take a pledge.
10 “They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,
And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
11 “Within the walls they produce oil;
They tread wine presses but thirst.
12 “From the city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God (L)does not pay attention to folly.
13 “[f]Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 “The murderer (M)arises at dawn;
He (N)kills the poor and the needy,
And at night he is as a thief.
15 “The eye of the (O)adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’
And he [g]disguises his face.
16 “In the dark they (P)dig into houses,
They (Q)shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light.
17 “For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness,
For he is familiar with the (R)terrors of thick darkness.
18 “They are [h](S)insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their portion is (T)cursed on the earth.
They do not turn [i]toward the (U)vineyards.
19 “Drought and heat [j](V)consume the snow waters,
So does [k](W)Sheol those who have sinned.
20 “A [l](X)mother will forget him;
The (Y)worm feeds sweetly till he is (Z)no longer remembered.
And wickedness will be broken (AA)like a tree.
21 “He wrongs the [m]barren woman
And does no good for (AB)the widow.
22 “But He drags off the valiant by (AC)His power;
He rises, but (AD)no one has assurance of life.
23 “He provides them (AE)with security, and they are supported;
And His (AF)eyes are on their ways.
24 “They are exalted a (AG)little while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are (AH)brought low and like everything gathered up;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.
25 “Now if it is not so, (AI)who can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”
Bildad Says Man Is Inferior
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite [n]answered,
2 “(AJ)Dominion and awe [o]belong to Him
Who establishes peace in (AK)His heights.
3 “Is there any number to (AL)His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?
4 “How then can a man be (AM)just with God?
Or how can he be (AN)clean who is born of woman?
5 “If even (AO)the moon has no brightness
And the (AP)stars are not pure in His sight,
6 How much less (AQ)man, that (AR)maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”
Job Rebukes Bildad
26 Then Job [p]responded,
2 “What a help you are to [q](AS)the weak!
How you have saved the arm (AT)without strength!
3 “What counsel you have given to one without wisdom!
What helpful insight you have abundantly [r]provided!
4 “To whom have you uttered words?
And whose [s]spirit was expressed through you?
The Greatness of God
5 “The [t](AU)departed spirits tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 “Naked is [u](AV)Sheol before Him,
And [v](AW)Abaddon has no covering.
7 “He (AX)stretches out the north over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing.
8 “He (AY)wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not burst under them.
9 “He [w](AZ)obscures the face of the [x]full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 “He has inscribed a (BA)circle on the surface of the waters
At the (BB)boundary of light and darkness.
11 “The pillars of heaven tremble
And are amazed at His rebuke.
12 “He (BC)quieted the sea with His power,
And by His (BD)understanding He shattered (BE)Rahab.
13 “By His breath the (BF)heavens are [y]cleared;
His hand has pierced (BG)the fleeing serpent.
14 “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint (BH)a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty (BI)thunder, who can understand?”
Job Affirms His Righteousness
27 Then Job [z]continued his (BJ)discourse and said,
2 “As God lives, (BK)who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, (BL)who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as [aa]life is in me,
And the [ab](BM)breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will (BN)my tongue mutter deceit.
5 “Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I die (BO)I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 “I (BP)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not reproach any of my days.
The State of the Godless
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked
And [ac]my opponent as the unjust.
8 “For what is (BQ)the hope of the godless [ad]when he is cut off,
When God requires (BR)his [ae]life?
9 “Will God (BS)hear his cry
When (BT)distress comes upon him?
10 “Will he take (BU)delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 “I will instruct you in the [af]power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 “Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you [ag]act foolishly?
13 “This is (BV)the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which (BW)tyrants receive from the Almighty.
14 “Though his sons are many, [ah]they are destined (BX)for the sword;
And his (BY)descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 “His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And [ai]their (BZ)widows will not be able to weep.
16 “Though he piles up silver like dust
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, (CA)but the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 “He has built his (CB)house like the [aj]spider’s web,
Or as a hut which the watchman has made.
19 “He lies down rich, but never [ak]again;
He opens his eyes, and (CC)it is no longer.
20 “(CD)Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away (CE)in the night.
21 “The east (CF)wind carries him away, and he is gone,
For it whirls him (CG)away from his place.
22 “For it will hurl at him (CH)without sparing;
He will surely try to (CI)flee from its [al]power.
23 “Men will clap their hands at him
And will (CJ)hiss him from his place.
Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures
28 “Surely there is a [am]mine for silver
And a place [an]where they refine gold.
2 “Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 “Man puts an end to darkness,
And (CK)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 “He [ao]sinks a shaft far from [ap]habitation,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing to and fro far from men.
5 “The earth, from it comes food,
And underneath it is turned up as fire.
6 “Its rocks are the [aq]source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 “The path no bird of prey knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 “The [ar]proud beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 “He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the [as]base.
10 “He hews out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 “He dams up the streams from [at]flowing,
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.
The Search for Wisdom Is Harder
12 “But (CL)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 “(CM)Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 “(CN)Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 “(CO)Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of (CP)wisdom is above that of pearls.
19 “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in (CQ)pure gold.
20 “(CR)Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 “[au](CS)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
23 “(CT)God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 “For He (CU)looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
25 “When He imparted (CV)weight to the wind
And (CW)meted out the waters by measure,
26 When He set a (CX)limit for the rain
And a course for the (CY)thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the (CZ)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.