Bible in 90 Days
Bildad’s Third Speech
25 Then[a] Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,[b]
2 “Domination and dread are with him
who makes peace in his high heavens.
3 Is there a number to his troops?
And upon whom does his light not rise?
4 “Indeed,[c] how can a human being be righteous before God?
And how will he who is born of a woman be pure?
5 Look, even the moon is not bright,[d]
and the stars are not pure in his sight.
6 How much less[e] for a human being who is a maggot,
and a human[f] who is a worm?”
Job’s Ninth Speech: A Response to Bildad
26 Then[g] Job answered and said,
2 “How you[h] have helped one who has no power![i]
How you[j] have assisted the arm that has no strength![k]
3 How you[l] have advised one who has no wisdom![m]
And what sound wisdom you[n] have made known in abundance![o]
4 With whose help[p] have you[q] uttered words,
and whose breath has come forth from you?[r]
5 “The spirits of the dead tremble
below the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is naked before him,
and there is no covering for Abaddon.
7 He stretches out the north over emptiness;
he hangs the earth over nothing.[s]
8 He ties up the water in its clouds,
and the cloud is not torn open beneath it.[t]
9 He covers the face of the full moon;[u]
he spreads his cloud over it.
10 He has described a circle[v] on the face of the water
between light and darkness.[w]
11 “The pillars of heaven tremble,
and they are astounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he stilled the sea,
and by his understanding he struck down Rahab.
13 By his breath the heavens were made clear;[x]
his hand pierced the fleeing snake.
14 Look, these are the outer fringes of his ways,
and how faint is the word[y] that we hear of him!
But[z] who can understand the thunder of his power?”
Job Continues His Final Speech
27 Then[aa] Job again took up his discourse and said,
2 “As God lives,[ab] he has removed my justice,
and Shaddai has made my inner self[ac] bitter.
3 For as long as[ad] my breath is in me,
and the spirit of God is in my nose,
4 my lips surely will not speak falseness,
and my tongue surely will not utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I would say that you[ae] are right;[af]
until I pass away, I will not put away from me my blamelessness.
6 I hold fast to my righteousness, and I will not let it go;
my heart will not blame any of my days.
7 “Let my enemy be like the wicked
and my opponent like the unrighteous,
8 for what is the hope of the godless when he cuts them off,
when God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry of distress
when distress comes upon him?
10 Or, in Shaddai will he find delight?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 “I will teach you[ag] about[ah] God’s hand;
I will not conceal that which is with Shaddai.
12 Look, you all have seen,
and why in the world[ai] have you become altogether vain?[aj]
13 “This is the portion of the wicked human being with God,
and they receive from Shaddai the inheritance of the ruthless.
14 If their children multiply, it is for the sword,
and his offspring do not have enough to eat.[ak]
15 Their[al] survivors are buried through[am] the plague,
and their[an] widows do not weep.
16 If he heaps up silver like the dust
and fashions clothing like the clay,
17 he makes it ready, and the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide the silver.
18 “He builds his house like the moth,
and like a booth that a watchman has made.
19 He goes to bed with wealth, but[ao] he will do so no more;[ap]
he opens his eyes, and it is gone.[aq]
20 Terrors overtake him like the water;
a storm wind carries him off in the night.
21 The east wind lifts him up, and he is gone,
and it sweeps him away from his place.
22 And it hurls at him, and it has no compassion;
he will quickly flee from its power.
23 It claps its hands over him,
and it hisses at him from its place.
Job’s Discourse on Wisdom
28 “Indeed, there is a mine for silver
and a place for gold to be refined.[ar]
2 Iron is taken from dust,
and he pours out copper from ore.
3 He puts an end to darkness,
and he searches out the farthest limits
for the ore in gloom and deep shadow.
4 He breaks open a mine shaft away from where people dwell;[as]
those who are forgotten by travelers,[at]
they dangle, they sway far away from human beings.
5 As for the earth, from it comes food,[au]
but[av] underneath it, it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of sapphire,
and the earthen dirt has[aw] gold.
7 “It is a path a bird of prey does not know
and the black kite’s eye has not seen.
8 Proud wild animals[ax] have not trodden it;
the lion in its prime has not prowled over it.
9 He puts his hand on the hard rock;
he overturns mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out tunnels in the rocks,
and his eye sees every treasure.
11 He dams up rivers from their sources,
and he brings secret things to the light.
12 “But[ay] from where will wisdom be found?
And where in the world[az] is the place of understanding?
13 A human being does not know its proper value,
and it is not 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 “Refined gold cannot be gotten in its place,
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
16 It cannot be bought for the gold of Ophir,
for precious onyx or[ba] sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot be compared with it,
and its substitution cannot be an ornament of refined gold.
18 Black corals and crystal will not be mentioned,
and wisdom’s price is more than red corals.
19 The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it;
it cannot be bought for pure gold.
20 Indeed,[bb] from where does wisdom come?
And where in the world[bc] is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and it is concealed from the birds of the heaven.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘We heard its rumor with our ears.’
23 “God understands its way,
and he knows its place,
24 for he himself[bd] looks to the end of the earth;
he sees under all the heaven.
25 When he gave[be] weight to the wind
and he apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made[bf] a rule for the rain
and a way for the thunder’s lightning bolt,
27 then he saw it and talked about it;
he established it, and moreover, he explored it.
28 And to the human beings he said,
‘Look, the fear of the Lord is wisdom,
and to depart from evil is understanding.’”
Job’s Final Defense
29 Then[bg] Job again took up his discourse and said,
2 “O that I were[bh] as in the months before,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his shining lamp was over my head—
by his light I walked through darkness—
4 as when I was in the days of my prime,
when God’s confiding was over my house,[bi]
5 when Shaddaiwas still with me,
my children were all around me,
6 when my paths were washed in sour milk,
and the rock poured out streams of oil for me.
7 “At my going out the gate to the city,
I secured my seat in the square.
8 Young men saw me and stepped aside,
and the aged rose up and stood.
9 Officials refrained from talking,
and they laid their hand on their mouth.
10 The voices[bj] of nobles were hushed,
and their tongue stuck to their palate.
11 “When the ear heard and commended me,
and the eye saw and testified in support of me
12 because I saved the needy who cried for help,
and I saved[bk] the orphan for whom there was no helper.
13 The blessing of the wretched came upon me,
and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and a headband.
15 “I was eyes to the blind,
and I was feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the poor,
and I investigated the stranger’s[bl] legal dispute.
17 And I broke the evil one’s jaw bones,
and I made his prey drop from his teeth.
18 “And I thought, ‘I will pass away in my nest,
and like the phoenix I shall multiply my days.
19 My roots were open to water,
and dew spent the night on my branches;
20 My glory was new with me,
and I was revitalized regularly.’[bm]
21 “They listened to me and waited,
and they kept silent for my counsel.
22 After my word, they did not speak again,
and my word dropped down like dew upon them.
23 And they waited for me as for the rain,
and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.
24 I smiled for them when they had no confidence in anything,
and they did not extinguish the light of my face.
25 I chose their way, and I sat as head,
and I dwelled like a king among the troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
Job’s Final Defense Continued
30 “But now those younger than I, as far as days, laugh at me,
whose fathers I rejected for setting with the dogs of my sheep and goats.
2 Moreover, what use to me is the strength of their hands?[bn]
With them, vigor is destroyed.
3 Through want and through barren hunger
they are gnawing in the dry region in the darkness of desolation and waste.
4 They are picking salt herbs, the leaves of bushes,
and the roots of broom trees to warm themselves.
5 They were driven out from fellow people;
they shout at them as at a[bo] thief,
6 so that they dwell[bp]
in holes of the ground and in the rocks.
7 They bray among the bushes;
they are gathered under the nettles.
8 A senseless crowd,[bq] yes, a disreputable brood,[br]
they were cast out from the land.
9 “But now I am their mocking song,
and I have become a byword for them.
10 They abhor me; they keep aloof from me,
and they do not withhold spit from my face
11 because he has loosened his bowstring and humbled me,
and they have thrown off restraint in my presence.[bs]
12 On the right hand the brood rises[bt] up;
they put me to flight,[bu]
and they build up their siege ramps[bv] against me.
13 They destroy my path;
they promote my destruction;
they have no helper.
14 As through a wide breach they come;
amid a crash they rush on.
15 Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my hope of deliverance passed by like a cloud.
16 “And now my life is poured out onto me;
days of misery have taken hold of me.
17 At night I am in great pain;[bw]
my pains do not take a rest.
18 He seizes my clothing with great power;[bx]
he grasps me by my tunic’s collar.
19 He has cast me into the dirt,
and I have become like dust[by] and ashes.
20 I cry to you for help, but[bz] you do not answer me;
I stand, and you merely look at me.
21 You have turned cruel to me;
you persecute me with your hand’s might.
22 You lift me up to the wind—you make me ride it,
and you toss me about in the storm.
23 Indeed, I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house of assembly for all the living.
24 “Surely someone must not send a hand against the needy
when, in his misfortune, there is a cry of help for them.
25 Have I not wept for the unfortunate,[ca]
and grieved myself over the poor?
26 Indeed, I hoped for good, but evil came,
and I waited for light, but darkness came.
27 My bowels are in turmoil, and they are not still;
days of misery come to confront me.
28 I go about in mourning garb, but not in sunlight;
I stand up in the assembly, and I cry for help.
29 I am a companion for the jackals
and a companion for ostriches.[cb]
30 My skin turns black on me,
and my bones burn with heat.
31 So[cc] my lyre came to be used for mourning,
and my flute for the voice of those who weep.
Job’s Final Defense Continued
31 “I made a covenant with my eyes,
so[cd] how could I look closely upon a virgin?
2 And what is the portion of God from above
or[ce] the heritage of Shaddai from on high?
3 Is not disaster for the evil one
and ruin for the workers of mischief?
4 Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falseness,
and my foot has hastened to deceit,
6 let him weigh me in the balance of justice,
and let God know my blamelessness.
7 If my steps have turned aside from the way,
and my heart has walked after my eyes,
and my hand has clung to a spot,
8 let me sow, and let another eat,
and let my crops be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and at my neighbor’s doorway I have lain in wait,
10 let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her,
11 for that is a shameful act,
and that is a criminal offense.[cf]
12 Indeed, that is a fire that will consume up to Abaddon,
and it would uproot all my crop.
13 “If I have rejected my male or[cg] female slave’s case
when their complaint was against me,
14 then[ch] what shall I do when God rises up?
And when he enquires, how shall I answer him?
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have withheld the desire of the poor from them,
or[ci] I have caused the widow’s eyes to fail,
17 or I have eaten my morsel alone,[cj]
and the orphan has not eaten from it
18 (for from my childhood he[ck] grew up with[cl] me like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided her[cm]),
19 if I have seen the one who perishes because of no clothing
or[cn] that there is no covering for the poor,
20 if his loins have not blessed me,
or[co] by means of my sheep’s fleece he has warmed himself,
21 if I have raised my hand against an orphan
because I saw my supporters at the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 Indeed, the disaster from God was a dread for me,
and I was powerless[cp] because of his majesty.
24 “If I have made gold my trust,
or[cq] I have called fine gold my security,
25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great
or[cr] because my hand found a fortune,
26 if I looked at the sun when it shone
or[cs] at the moon moving in splendor,
27 and I was secretly enticed,[ct]
and my hand threw them a kiss,[cu]
28 this also is an iniquity to be judged,
for I have deceived God above.
29 “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of the one who hated me
or[cv] have exulted when evil overtook him—
30 no,[cw] I have not allowed my mouth to sin,
to ask his life with a curse.
31 Have the people of my tent not said,[cx]
‘O that[cy] someone[cz] had not been satisfied with his meat’?
32 An alien has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my door to the traveler.
33 Have I concealed[da] my transgressions as other human beings
to hide my iniquity in my bosom
34 because I dreaded the great multitude,
and the contempt of clans terrified me,
so that I kept quiet, I did not go out of the doorway?
35 O that[db] I had[dc] someone hearing me!
Here is my signature;
let Shaddai answer me!
As for[dd] the written communication that my adversary[de] has written,
36 I would surely[df] carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me like a crown.
37 I would give him an account of my steps;
I would approach him like a noble.
38 If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept together,
39 if I have eaten its yield without payment,
or[dg] I have caused the breath of its owners to die,
40 let thorns grow in place of wheat
and noxious weeds in place of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Elihu Rebukes Job and His Three Friends
32 Then these three men ceased from answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 So Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite, from the clan of Ram, became angry.[dh] He became angry[di] at Job because he justified himself rather than God, 3 and he became angry[dj] at his three friends because they had not found an answer, and they had declared Job guilty. 4 Thus Elihu had waited for Job to speak[dk] because they were older than he.[dl] 5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he became angry.[dm] 6 Then Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up[dn] and said,
“I am young,[do] but[dp] you[dq] are old;
therefore I feared and became afraid of explaining my knowledge to you.[dr]
7 I thought,[ds] ‘Let days[dt] speak,
and let many years teach wisdom.’
8 “Truly, it is a spirit in a human being,
and the breath of Shaddai teaches them.
9 It is not the aged[du] who are wise,
or[dv] it is not the elders who understand justice.
10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;
let me also declare my knowledge myself.’
11 “Look, I waited for your[dw] words;
I listened for your[dx] insight,
until you searched out what to say.[dy]
12 And I directed my attention to you;[dz]
and, look, there is no one for Job who refuted,
answering his words among you.
13 So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;
let God refute him, not a man.’
14 But[ea] he did not direct his words[eb] to me,
and I will not answer him with your[ec] words.
15 “They are dismayed; they no longer answer;
they have nothing to say.[ed]
16 And I have waited because they do not speak,
because they stand there and no longer answer.
17 I myself will answer my share also;
I myself will declare my knowledge also,
18 for I am full of words;[ee]
the spirit within me[ef] urges me.
19 “Look, my internal organs are like unopened wine,
like new wineskins it[eg] is ready to burst open.
20 Let me speak that I may find relief;[eh]
let me open my lips, and let me answer.
21 Please let me not show partiality to anyone,[ei]
and let me not show flattery to human beings,
22 for I do not know how to flatter,[ej]
else my Maker would soon[ek] put an end to me.
Elihu Rebukes Job
33 “But now, please hear my speeches,[el] Job,
and hear[em] all my words.
2 Please look, I open my mouth;
my tongue in my mouth speaks.
3 My words declare my heart’s uprightness,
and my lips sincerely speak what my lips know.[en]
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of Shaddai gives life to me.
5 “If you are able, answer me.
Present your argument before me;[eo] take your stand.
6 Look, before God I am like you;[ep]
I myself was also formed from clay.
7 Look, dread of me should not terrify you,
and my hand will not be heavy upon you.
8 “Surely you have spoken in my ears,
and I have heard the sound of your words:[eq]
9 ‘I am clean, without transgression;
I am pure, and there is no guilt in me.
10 Look, he finds fault against me;
he reckons me as his enemy;
11 he puts my feet in the block;
he watches all my paths.’
12 “Look, in this you are not right—I will answer you:
Indeed, God is greater than a human being.
13 Why do you contend against him,
that he will not answer all a person’s words?
14 Indeed, God speaks in one way,
even[er] in two,[es] yet someone does not perceive it.
15 “In a dream, a vision of the night,
when a deep sleep falls on men slumbering on their bed,
16 then he opens the ear of men,
and he frightens them with a warning[et]
17 to turn human beings aside from their deeds,
and he keeps man from pride.
18 He spares his life from the pit
and his life from passing over the river of death.
19 “And he is reproved with pain on his bed,
even[eu] with the strife of his bones continually,
20 so that[ev] his life loathes bread,
and his inner self[ew] loathes appetizing food.[ex]
21 His flesh is wasted away from sight,
and his bones, which are invisible, are bared.
22 And he[ey] draws near to the pit
and his life to the killers.
23 “If there is a messenger beside him, a mediator, one of a thousand,[ez]
to declare to a human being his uprightness
24 so that[fa] he is gracious to him, and he says,
‘Deliver him from descending into the pit;
I have found a ransom.’
25 His flesh is renewed with his youth;
he returns to the days of his youthful strength.
26 He prays to God, then he accepts him,
and he sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he repays to the human being his righteousness.
27 “He will sing to men, and he will say,
‘I have sinned and have perverted what is right,
and it was not paid back to me.
28 He redeemed my life from going down into the pit,
so[fb] I will enjoy the light.’[fc]
29 Look, God does all these things
twice, three times[fd] with a person
30 to bring his life back from the pit
so that he may enjoy the light of life.[fe]
31 “Listen attentively, Job; listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say,[ff] answer me;[fg]
speak, for I desire to justify you.[fh]
33 If not, you listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
Elihu Asserts God’s Justice
34 Thus[fi] Elihu spoke up[fj] and said,
2 “Hear my words, you wise men,
and listen to me, you who know,
3 for the ear tests words,
and the palate tastes food.[fk]
4 Let us choose justice for ourselves;
let us determine among ourselves what is good—
5 for Job has said, ‘I am righteous,
but God has taken away my justice.
6 Should I lie concerning my justice?
Though I am without transgression, my wound caused by an arrow is incurable.’
7 What man is like Job,
who drinks scorn like water?
8 And he goes on the road in company with instigators of mischief,
and walks with men of wickedness.
9 Indeed, he says, ‘A man does not profit
when he takes delight in God.’
10 “Therefore, listen to me, people who have sense:[fl]
far be it from God that he should commit wickedness[fm]
and that Shaddai should do wrong.[fn]
11 Indeed, he will repay according to a human being’s deeds,
and according to a man’s way he will let it happen to him.
12 What’s more, God truly does not act wickedly,
and Shaddai does not pervert justice.
13 Who gave him charge over the earth?
Or[fo] who laid on him the whole world?
14 If he should set his heart to it,
and he should gather his spirit and his breath to himself,
15 all flesh would perish together,
and humankind would return to dust.
16 “But[fp] if you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.[fq]
17 Shall he who hates justice really govern?
Or will you[fr] declare the Righteous One, the Mighty, guilty?—
18 the one who says to a king,
‘You worthless man,’ to noblemen, ‘You wicked man,’
19 who shows no partiality to officials[fs]
and who does not take note of the noble more than of the insignificant,[ft]
for all of them are the work of his hands?
20 In a moment they die,
and in the middle of the night the people are shaken, and they pass away,
and they take away the mighty effortlessly.[fu]
21 “Indeed, his eyes are upon the ways of man,
and he sees all his steps.
22 There is no darkness, and there is no deep shadow
where instigators of mischief might hide themselves.
23 Indeed, he has not yet appointed a time for man
to go to God in the judgment.
24 He shatters the mighty without investigation,
and he sets others in their place.
25 Therefore he knows their works,
and he overturns them in the night
so that[fv] they are crushed.
26 He strikes them where the wicked stood,[fw]
where there are onlookers,[fx]
27 because they have turned aside from him
and have not understood any of his ways,
28 so that they cause the cry of distress from the helpless to come to him,
and he hears the cry of distress from the needy,
29 but he remains quiet, and who can condemn?
And he hides his face, and who can behold him?
Yet[fy] he is over a nation and over a person alike,
30 so that godless human beings should not reign,
nor those who ensnare the people.
31 “Indeed, does anyone say to God, ‘I have endured chastisement;
I will not act corruptly again;
32 teach me yourself what I cannot see;[fz]
if I have done wrong, I will not repeat it’?
33 According to your judgment,[ga] must he repay it because you rejected this?
Indeed, you must choose, and not I, so[gb] declare what you know.
34 Those who have sense[gc] say to me,
and the wise man hearing me says:
35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge,
and his words are without insight.
36 Would that Job were tested up to the end
because his answers are like those from men of mischief,
37 for he adds transgression to his sin;
he claps hands among us,
and he multiplies his words against God.’”
Elihu Condemns Job
35 Moreover,[gd] Elihu spoke up[ge] and said,
2 “Do you think this is justice when you say,
‘I am right[gf] before God’?
3 If you ask what it profits you:
‘How do I benefit by refraining from my sin?’[gg]
4 I myself[gh] will give answer to you[gi]
and to your friends with you.
5 “Look at the heavens, and see;
and observe the clouds that are higher than you.
6 If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him?
And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him,
or what does he receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness affects a person like yourself,
and your righteousness affects humans.
9 “Because of the multitude of oppressions, they cry out;
they cry for help because of the arm of the mighty.
10 But[gj] no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
11 who teaches us more than the animals of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
12 There they cry out, but[gk] he does not answer
because of the pride of evildoers.[gl]
13 “Surely God does not hear an empty plea,
and Shaddai does not regard it.
14 How much less[gm] when you say that you do not see him,
that the case is before him,[gn] and you are waiting for him!
15 But[go] now, because his anger does not punish,
and he does not acknowledge the transgression at all,
16 therefore[gp] Job opens his mouth in empty talk—
without knowledge he multiplies words.”
Elihu Extols God’s Greatness
36 Then[gq] Elihu continued and said,
2 “Bear with me a little longer, and I will explain,[gr]
for I still have something to say on God’s behalf.[gs]
3 I will bring my knowledge from far away,
and I will ascribe righteousness to my maker,
4 for truly my words[gt] are not falsehood;
one who has perfect knowledge is with you.[gu]
5 Look, God is mighty but[gv] does not despise anyone;
he is mighty and good in understanding.[gw]
6 He does not keep the wicked alive
but[gx] grants justice to the afflicted.
7 He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,
but[gy] he sets them forever with kings on the throne, and they are exalted.
8 “And if they are tied up with fetters,
if they are caught in the cords of misery,
9 then[gz] he declares their work to them,
and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.
10 So[ha] he opens their ear to the discipline,
and he commands that they return from mischief.
11 If they listen and serve him,
they complete their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness.
12 But[hb] if they do not listen, they perish by the sword,
and they pass away without knowledge.
13 And the godless of heart cherish anger;
they do not cry for help when he binds them.
14 They die in their youth,[hc]
and their life ends among the male shrine prostitutes.
15 He delivers the afflicted by his misery,
and he opens their ears by the adversity.
16 And what’s more, he allured you out of distress[hd]
into a broad place, where in place of it was no constraint;
and what was set on your table is full of fatness.
17 But[he] you are obsessed with the judgment of the wicked;
judgment and justice take hold of you.
18 Yes,[hf] it is wrath, so that it will not incite you into mockery;
and do not let the ransom’s greatness turn you aside.
19 Will your cry for help sustain you without distress,
or[hg] all the efforts of your strength?
20 You must not long for the night,
to cut off people in their place.[hh]
21 Take care, you must not turn to mischief,
for because of this you have been tried by misery.
22 “Look, God is exalted in his power;
who is a teacher like him?
23 Who has prescribed his way for him?
Or[hi] who says, ‘You have done wrong’?
24 Remember that you should extol his work,
of which people have sung.
25 All human beings have looked on it;
everyone watches from afar.
26 “Look, God is exalted, and we do not know him;
the number of his years is unsearchable.
27 Indeed, he draws up the drops of water;
he distills the rain into its mist,
28 which the clouds pour down;
they shower abundantly on human beings.
29 “Moreover, can anyone understand[hj] the spreading of clouds,
the thundering of his dwelling place?
30 Look, he scatters his lightning around him,
and he covers the roots of the sea.
31 Indeed, he judges people by them;
he gives food in abundance.[hk]
32 He covers his hands with lightning,
and he commands it the place at which to strike.
33 His thundering tells about him;
the livestock also tell concerning what rises.[hl]
Elihu Extols God’s Majesty
37 “About this also my heart trembles,
and it leaps from its place.
2 Listen carefully to his voice’s thunder
and the rumbling that goes out from his mouth.
3 He lets it loose under all the heavens,
and his lightning to the earth’s corners.
4 After it, his voice roars;
it thunders with his majestic voice,[hm]
and he does not restrain it when his voice is heard.
5 “God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways;
he does great things, and we cannot comprehend.
6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth’;
and the shower of rain, his heavy shower of rain[hn]—
7 he stops all human beings from working[ho]
so that everyone whom he has made may know it.[hp]
8 Then[hq] the animal goes into its den,
and it remains in its den.
9 “The storm wind comes from its chamber
and cold from the north wind.
10 By God’s breath, ice is given,
and the broad waters are frozen.
11 Also, he loads down thick clouds with moisture;
his lightning scatters the clouds.
12 And they[hr] turn around by his guidance
to accomplish all that he has commanded them
on the face of the habitable world.[hs]
13 Whether as correction[ht] or for his land,
or as loyal love, he lets it happen.
14 “Hear this, Job;
stand still and consider carefully God’s wondrous works.
15 Do you know how God commands them[hu]
and how he causes his cloud’s lightning to shine?
16 Do you know about the hovering of the clouds,
the marvelous works of the one with perfect knowledge?[hv]
17 You whose garments are hot,
when the earth is being still because of the south wind,
18 with him can you spread out the skies,
hard as a molten mirror?
19 “Teach us what we should say to him;
we cannot draw up our case because of the presence of darkness.
20 Should he be told that I want to speak?
Or did a man say that he would be communicated with?
21 So then, they do not look at the light when it is bright in the skies,
when[hw] the wind has passed and has cleansed them.
22 From the north comes gold—
awesome majesty is around God.
23 As for Shaddai, we cannot attain him;
he is exalted in power,
and he does not oppress justice and abundant righteousness.
24 Therefore people revered him;
he does not regard any[hx] who think that they are wise.”[hy]
Yahweh Challenges Job
38 Then[hz] Yahweh answered Job from the storm, and he said,
2 “Who is this darkening counsel
by words without knowledge?
3 Prepare yourself for a difficult task like a man,[ia]
and I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
Yahweh Interrogates Job
4 “Where were you at my laying the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you possess understanding.
5 Who determined its measurement? Yes, you do know.
Or who stretched the measuring line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars were singing together
and all the sons of God[ib] shouted for joy?
8 “Or who shut the sea in with doors
at its bursting, when it went out of the womb,
9 at my making the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and I prescribed my rule for it,
and I set bars and doors,
11 and I said, ‘You shall come up to here, but[ic] you shall not go further,
and here it will set a boundary for your proud surging waves’?[id]
12 “Have you ever in your life[ie] commanded the morning?
Have you made the dawn know its place,
13 to take hold of the earth’s skirts
so that[if] the wicked might be shaken off from it?
14 It is changed like clay under a seal,
and they appear like a garment.
15 And their light is withheld from the wicked,
and their uplifted arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered into the sea’s sources?
Or have you walked around in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the gates of deep shadow?
18 Have you considered closely the earth’s vast expanse?
Declare it, if you know all of it.
19 “Where then[ig] is the way where the light dwells?
And where then[ih] is its place,
20 that you may take it to its territory,
and that you might discern the paths to its home?
21 You know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great.
22 Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow,
or[ii] have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
24 Where then[ij] is the way where the light is distributed,
where he scatters the east wind upon the earth?
25 “Who has cut open a channel for the torrents
and a way for the thunder bolts,[ik]
26 to bring rain on a land where no one lives,[il]
a desert where no humans live,[im]
27 to satisfy desert and wasteland,
and to cause the ground to put forth the rising of grass?
28 Is there a father for the rain,
or who fathered the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who fathered the frost of heaven?
30 Like stone the waters become hard,
and the faces of the deep freeze.
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
or can you loosen the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the southern constellations at their appointed time,
or[in] can you lead the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know heaven’s statutes,
or can you establish their rule on the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds
so that[io] a flood of water may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go?
And will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the ibis,[ip]
or who has given understanding to the rooster?[iq]
37 Who can number the clouds with wisdom?
Or[ir] who can tilt heaven’s jars,
38 at the flowing of the dust into a cast
and the clods cling together?
39 “Can you hunt prey for the lion?
And can you satisfy the hunger of strong lions
40 when they are crouched in the dens,
when they lie in the thicket in an ambush?
41 Who prepares for the crow its prey,
when its young ones cry to God for help,
and they wander around for lack of food?[is]
39 “Do you know the time when the goats of the rocks give birth?
Do you observe the doe deer’s giving birth?
2 Can you number the months they fulfill,
and do you know the time of its giving birth?
3 When they crouch, they bring forth their young ones;
they get rid of their labor pains.[it]
4 Their young ones grow strong; they grow up in the open;
they go forth and do not return to them.
5 “Who has sent forth the wild ass free?
And who has released the wild donkey’s bonds,
6 to which I have given the wilderness as its house
and the salt flat as its dwelling place?
7 It scorns the city’s turmoil;
it does not hear the driver’s shouts.
8 It explores the mountains as its pasture
and searches after every kind of green plant.
9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you,
or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you tie the wild ox with its rope to a furrow,
or will it harrow the valleys after you?
11 Can you trust it because its strength is great,
or will you hand your labor over to it?
12 Can you rely on it that it will return your grain
and that it will gather it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings[iu] of the female ostrich flap[iv]—
are they[iw] the pinions of the stork or[ix] the falcon?
14 Indeed, it leaves its eggs to the earth,
and it lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 and it forgets that a foot might crush an egg,[iy]
and a wild animal[iz] might trample it.[ja]
16 It deals cruelly with its young ones, as if they were not its own,
as if without fear that its labor were in vain,
17 because God made it forget wisdom,
and he did not give it a share in understanding.
18 When it spreads its wings aloft,[jb]
it laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give power to the horse?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?
20 Do you make it leap like the locust?
The majesty of its snorting is terrifying.
21 They paw in the valley, and it exults with strength;
it goes out to meet the battle.
22 It laughs at danger and is not dismayed,
and it does not turn back from before[jc] the sword.
23 Upon it the quiver rattles
along with the flash of the spear and the short sword.
24 With roar and rage it races over the ground,[jd]
and it cannot stand still at the sound of the horn.
25 Whenever[je] a horn sounds, it says, ‘Aha!’
And it smells the battle from a distance—
the thunder of the commanders and the war cry.
26 “Does the hawk soar by your wisdom?
Does it spread its wings to the south?
27 Or does the eagle fly high at your command
and construct its nest high?
28 It lives on the rock and spends the night
on the rock point and the mountain stronghold.[jf]
29 From there it spies out the prey;
its eyes look from far away.
30 And its young ones lick blood greedily,
and where the dead carcasses are, there they are.”
40 Then[jg] Yahweh answered Job and said,
2 “Shall a faultfinder contend with Shaddai?
Anyone who argues with God must answer it.”
Job Responds to Yahweh
3 So Job answered Yahweh and said,
4 “Look, I am insignificant.
What shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;
even[jh] twice, but[ji] I will not proceed.”
Yahweh Challenges Job Again
6 Then[jj] Yahweh answered Job from the storm, and he said,
7 “Prepare yourself for a difficult task like a man,[jk]
and I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
Yahweh Interrogates Job Again
8 “Indeed, would you annul my justice?
Would you condemn me, so that you might be righteous?
9 Or do you have an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 Adorn[jl] yourself with pride and dignity,
and clothe yourself with splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowing of your anger,
and look at all the proud, and humble them.
12 Look at all the proud, humble them,
and tread down the wicked where they stand.[jm]
13 Hide them in the dust together;
bind their faces in the grave.
14 And I will also praise you,
that your own right hand can save you.
15 “Look, Behemoth,[jn] which I have made just as I made you;
it eats grass like the ox.
16 Look, its strength is in its loins
and its power in the muscles of its stomach.
17 It keeps its tail straight like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
18 Its bones are tubes of copper,
its limbs like rods of iron.
19 “It is the first of God’s actions;
the one who made him furnishes it with his sword.[jo]
20 Yes, the mountains yield produce for it,
and all wild animals[jp] play there.
21 Under the lotus tree it lies,
in the hiding place of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover it with their shade;
the wadi’s[jq] poplar trees surround it.
23 Look, if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened;
it is confident even though the Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can anyone take it by its eyes?
Can he pierce its nose with a snare?
41 [jr] “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or[js] can you tie down its mouth with a cord?[jt]
2 Can you put a rope in its nose?
Or[ju] can you pierce its jawbone with a hook?
3 Will it make numerous pleas for mercy to you?
Or will it speak gentle words to you?
4 Will it make a covenant with you?
Will you take it as a slave forever?
5 Will you play with it as with birds
and put it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will guildsmen bargain over it?
Will they divide it between tradesmen?
7 Can you fill its kin with harpoons
or[jv] its head with fish spears?
8 Lay your hands on it;
think about the battle—you will not do it again!
9 “Look, the hope of capturing it[jw] is false.
Will one be hurled down even at its sight?
10 Is it not fierce when somebody stirs it?
Who then is he who would stand before it?[jx]
11 Who has come to confront me, that[jy] I should repay him?
Under all the heavens, it belongs to me.[jz]
12 “I will not keep quiet concerning its limbs
or[ka] concerning the extent of its might and the gracefulness of its frame.
13 Who can strip off its outer covering?[kb]
Who can penetrate its double harness?
14 Who can open the doors of its face?
Its teeth all around are fearsome.
15 Its back[kc] has scales of shields;
it is shut up closely as with a seal.
16 They are close to one another—[kd]
even[ke] the air cannot come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;[kf]
they cling together and cannot be separated.
18 “Its snorting flashes forth light,
and its eyes are red like dawn.[kg]
19 Torches go from its mouth;
sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke comes from its nostrils
as from a kettle boiling and burning bulrushes.
21 Its breath kindles charcoal,
and a flame comes from its mouth.
22 “Strength abides in its neck,
and dismay[kh] dances before it.[ki]
23 Its flesh’s folds of skin cling together;
it is cast on it—it will not be moved.
24 Its heart is cast as stone;
yes,[kj] it is cast as the lower millstone.
25 When it raises itself,[kk] the mighty ones are terrified;
they retreat because of its thrashing.
26 Reaching it with the sword does not avail,
nor with the spear, the dart, or[kl] the javelin.
27 It regards iron as straw,
bronze as rotten wood.
28 An arrow[km] will not make it flee;
sling stones are turned to stubble for it.
29 Clubs are regarded as stubble,
and it laughs at the short sword’s rattle.
30 “Its underparts are shards of a potsherd;
it moves over mud like a threshing sledge.
31 It makes the deep boil like a cooking pot;
it makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 Behind it, it leaves a glistening wake;[kn]
one would think that the deep has gray hair.
33 “On the ground it has no equal[ko]—
a[kp] creature without fear.
34 It observes all the lofty;
it is king over all that are proud.”[kq]
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