Bible in 90 Days
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,
2 Dominion and fear are with [God]; He makes peace in His high places.
3 Is there any number to His armies? And upon whom does not His light arise?
4 How then can man be justified and righteous before God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?(A)
5 Behold, even the moon has no brightness [compared to God’s glory] and the stars are not pure in His sight—
6 How much less man, who is a maggot! And a son of man, who is a worm!
26 But Job answered,
2 How you have helped him who is without power! How you have sustained the arm that is without strength!
3 How you have counseled him who has no wisdom! And how plentifully you have declared to him sound knowledge!
4 With whose assistance have you uttered these words? And whose spirit [inspired what] came forth from you?
5 The shades of the dead tremble underneath the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol (the place of the dead) is naked before God, and Abaddon (the place of destruction) has no covering [from His eyes].
7 He it is Who spreads out the northern skies over emptiness and [a]hangs the earth upon or over nothing.
8 He holds the waters bound in His clouds [which otherwise would spill on earth all at once], and the cloud is not rent under them.
9 He covers the face of His throne and spreads over it His cloud.
10 He has placed an enclosing limit [the horizon] upon the waters at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens tremble and are astonished at His rebuke.
12 He stills or stirs up the sea by His power, and by His understanding He smites proud Rahab.
13 By His breath the heavens are garnished; His hand pierced the [swiftly] fleeing serpent.(B)
14 Yet these are but [a small part of His doings] the outskirts of His ways or the mere fringes of His force, the faintest whisper of His voice! Who dares contemplate or who can understand the thunders of His full, magnificent power?
27 Job again took up his discourse and said,
2 As God lives, Who has taken away my right and denied me justice, and the Almighty, Who has vexed and embittered my life,
3 As long as my life is still whole within me, and the breath of God is [yet] in my nostrils,
4 My lips shall not speak untruth, nor shall my tongue utter deceit.
5 God forbid that I should justify you—saying you are right [in your accusations against me]; till I die, I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 My uprightness and my right standing with God I hold fast and will not let them go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days and it shall not reproach me as long as I live.
7 Let my enemy be as the wicked, and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the godless and polluted, even though he has gained [in this world], when God cuts him off and takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him?
10 Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you regarding the hand and handiwork of God; that which is with the Almighty [God’s actual treatment of the wicked man] will I not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain [cherishing foolish notions]?
13 This [which I am about to tell] is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage which oppressors shall receive from the Almighty:
14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; and his offspring will not have sufficient bread.
15 Those who survive him, [the pestilence] will bury, and [their] widows will make no lamentation.
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up clothing like clay,
17 He may prepare it, but the just will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his house like a moth or a spider, like a booth which a watchman makes [to last for a season].
19 [The wicked] will lie down rich, but does it not again; he opens his eyes, and [his wealth] is gone.
20 Terrors overtake him like a [suddenly loosened] flood; a windstorm steals him away in the night.
21 The east wind lifts him up, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.
22 For [God and the storm] hurl at him without pity and unsparingly [their thunderbolts of wrath]; he flees in haste before His power.
23 [God causes] men to clap their hands at him [in malignant joy] and hiss him out of his place.
28 Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold where they refine it.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the stone ore.
3 Man sets an end to darkness, and he searches out the farthest bounds for the ore buried in gloom and deep darkness.
4 Men break open shafts away from where people sojourn, in places forgotten by [human] foot; and [descend into them], hanging afar from men, they swing or flit to and fro.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread, but underneath [its surface, down deep in the mine] there is [b]blasting, turning it up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the bed of sapphires; it holds dust of gold [which he wins].
7 That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
8 The proud beasts [and their young] have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 Man puts forth his hand upon the flinty rock; he overturns the mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out channels and passages among the rocks; and his eye sees every precious thing.
11 [Man] binds the streams so that they do not trickle [into the mine], and the thing that is hidden he brings forth to light.
12 But where shall [c]Wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man knows not the price of it; neither is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, [Wisdom] is not in me; and the sea says, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price of it.
16 It cannot be valued in [terms of] the gold of Ophir, in the precious onyx or beryl, or the sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal [Wisdom], nor can it be exchanged for jewels or vessels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; for the possession of Wisdom is even above rubies or pearls.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 From where then does Wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and knowledge of it is withheld from the birds of the heavens.
22 Abaddon (the place of destruction) and Death say, We have [only] heard the report of it with our ears.
23 God understands the way [to Wisdom] and He knows the place of it [Wisdom is with God alone].
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He gave to the wind weight or pressure and allotted the waters by measure,
26 When He made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 Then He saw [Wisdom] and declared it; He established it, yes, and searched it out [for His own use, and He alone possesses it].
28 But to man He said, Behold, the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord—that is Wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
29 And Job again took up his discussion and said,
2 Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me,(C)
3 When His lamp shone above and upon my head and by His light I walked through darkness;
4 As I was in the [prime] ripeness of my days, when the friendship and counsel of God were over my tent,
5 When the Almighty was yet with me and my children were about me,
6 When my steps [through rich pasturage] were washed with butter and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7 When I went out to the gate of the city, when I prepared my seat in the street [the broad place for the council at the city’s gate],
8 The young men saw me and hid themselves; the aged rose up and stood;
9 The princes refrained from talking and laid their hands on their mouths;
10 The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues cleaved to the roof of their mouths.
11 For when the ear heard, it called me happy and blessed me; and when the eye saw, it testified for me [approvingly],
12 Because I delivered the poor who cried, the fatherless and him who had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on [d]righteousness, and it clothed me or clothed itself with me; my justice was like a robe and a turban or a diadem or a crown!
15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
16 I was a father to the poor and needy; the cause of him I did not know I searched out.
17 And I broke the jaws or the big teeth of the unrighteous and plucked the prey out of his teeth.
18 Then I said, I shall die in or beside my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.
19 My root is spread out and open to the waters, and the dew lies all night upon my branch.
20 My glory and honor are fresh in me [being constantly renewed], and my bow gains [ever] new strength in my hand.
21 Men listened to me and waited and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke, they did not speak again, and my speech dropped upon them [like a refreshing shower].
23 And they waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouths wide as for the spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence, and their depression did not cast down the light of my countenance.
25 I chose their way [for them] and sat as [their] chief, and dwelt like a king among his soldiers, like one who comforts mourners.
30 But now they who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 Yes, how could the strength of their hands profit me? They were men whose ripe age and vigor had perished.
3 They are gaunt with want and famine; they gnaw the dry and barren ground or flee into the wilderness, into the gloom of wasteness and desolation.
4 They pluck saltwort or mallows among the bushes, and roots of the broom for their food or to warm them.
5 They are driven from among men, who shout after them as after a thief.
6 They must dwell in the clefts of frightful valleys (gullies made by torrents) and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they bray and howl [like wild animals]; beneath the prickly scrub they fling themselves and huddle together.
8 Sons of the worthless and nameless, they have been scourged and crushed out of the land.
9 And now I have become their song; yes, I am a byword to them.
10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, and do not refrain from spitting in my face or at the sight of me.
11 For God has loosed my bowstring and afflicted and humbled me; they have cast off the bridle [of restraint] before me.
12 On my right hand rises the rabble brood; they jostle me and push away my feet, and they cast up against me their ways of destruction [like an advancing army].
13 They break up and clutter my path [embarrassing my plans]; they urge on my calamity, even though they have no helper [and are themselves helpless].
14 As through a wide breach they come in; amid the crash [of falling walls] they roll themselves upon me.
15 Terrors are turned upon me; my honor and reputation they chase away like the wind, and my welfare has passed away as a cloud.
16 And now my life is poured out within me; the days of affliction have gripped me.
17 My bones are pierced [with aching] in the night season, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
18 By the great force [of my disease] my garment is disguised and disfigured; it binds me about like the collar of my coat.
19 [God] has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to You, [Lord,] and You do not answer me; I stand up, but You [only] gaze [indifferently] at me.
21 You have become harsh and cruel to me; with the might of Your hand You [keep me alive only to] persecute me.
22 You lift me up on the wind; You cause me to ride upon it, and You toss me about in the tempest.
23 For I know that You will bring me to death and to the house [of meeting] appointed for all the living.
24 However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand? Or in his calamity will he not therefore cry for help?
25 Did not I weep for him who was in trouble? Was not my heart grieved for the poor and needy?
26 But when I looked for good, then evil came to me; and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
27 My heart is troubled and does not rest; days of affliction come to meet me.
28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the congregation and cry for help.
29 I am a brother to jackals [which howl], and a companion to ostriches [which scream dismally].
30 My skin falls from me in blackened flakes, and my bones are burned with heat.
31 Therefore my lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.
31 I dictated a covenant (an agreement) to my eyes; how then could I look [lustfully] upon a girl?
2 For what portion should I have from God above [if I were lewd], and what heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Does not calamity [justly] befall the unrighteous, and disaster the workers of iniquity?
4 Does not [God] see my ways and count all my steps?
5 If I have walked with falsehood or vanity, or if my foot has hastened to deceit—
6 Oh, let me be weighed in a just balance and let Him weigh me, that God may know my integrity!
7 If my step has turned out of [God’s] way, and my heart has gone the way my eyes [covetously] invited, and if any spot has stained my hands with guilt,
8 Then let me sow and let another eat; yes, let the produce of my field or my offspring be rooted out.
9 If my heart has been deceived and I made a fool by a woman, or if I have [covetously] laid wait at my neighbor’s door [until his departure],
10 Then let my wife grind [meal, like a bondslave] for another, and let others bow down upon her.
11 For [adultery] is a heinous and chief crime, an iniquity [to demand action by] the judges and punishment.(D)
12 For [uncontrolled passion] is a fire which consumes to Abaddon (to destruction, ruin, and the place of final torment); [that fire once lighted would rage until all is consumed] and would burn to the root all my [life’s] increase.
13 If I have despised and rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant when they contended or brought a complaint against me,
14 What then shall I do when God rises up [to judge]? When He visits [to inquire of me], what shall I answer Him?(E)
15 Did not He Who made me in the womb make [my servant]? And did not One fashion us both in the womb?(F)
16 If I have withheld from the poor and needy what they desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to look in vain [for relief],
17 Or have eaten my morsel alone and have not shared it with the fatherless—
18 No, but from my youth [the fatherless] grew up with me as a father, and I have been [the widow’s] guide from my mother’s womb—
19 If I have seen anyone perish for want of clothing, or any poor person without covering,
20 If his loins have not blessed me [for clothing them], and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 If I have lifted my hand against the fatherless when I saw [that the judges would be favorable and be] my help at the [council] gate,
22 Then let my shoulder fall away from my shoulder blade, and my arm be broken from its socket.
23 For calamity from God was a terror to me, and because of His majesty I could not endure [to face Him] and could do nothing.(G)
24 If I have made gold my trust and hope or have said to fine gold, You are my confidence,
25 If I rejoiced because my wealth was great and because my [powerful] hand [alone] had gotten much,
26 If I beheld [as an object of worship] the sunlight when it shone or the moon walking in its brightness,
27 And my heart has been secretly enticed by them or my mouth has kissed my hand [in homage to them],
28 This also would have been [a heinous and principal] iniquity to demand the judges’ action and punishment, for I would have denied and been false to the God Who is above.(H)
29 If I rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me or lifted myself up [in malicious triumph] when evil overtook him—
30 No, I have let my mouth sin neither by cursing my enemy nor by praying that he might die—
31 [Just ask] if the men of my tent will not say, Who can find one in need who has not been satisfied with food he gave them?—
32 The temporary resident has not lodged in the street, but I have opened my door to the wayfaring man—
33 If like Adam or like [other] men I have concealed my transgressions, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom
34 Because I feared the great multitude and the contempt of families terrified me so that I kept silence and did not go out of the door—
35 Oh, for a hearing! Oh, for an answer from the Almighty! Let my adversary write out His indictment [and put His vague accusations in tangible form] in a book!
36 Surely I would [proudly] bear it on my shoulder and wind the scroll about my head as a diadem.
37 I would count out to Him the number of my steps [with every detail of my life], approaching His presence as a prince—
38 For if my land has cried out against me and its furrows have complained together with tears [that I have no right to them],
39 If I have eaten its fruits without paying for them or have caused its [rightful] owners to breathe their last,
40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat and cockleburs instead of barley. The [controversial] words of Job [with his friends] are ended.
32 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was [rigidly] righteous (upright and in right standing with God) in his own eyes. [But there was a fifth man there also.]
2 Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became indignant. His indignation was kindled against Job because he justified himself rather than God [even made himself out to be better than God].
3 Also against [Job’s] three friends was [Elihu’s] anger kindled, because they had found no answer [were unable to show his real error], and yet they had declared him to be in the wrong [and responsible for his own afflictions].
4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the others were older than he.
5 But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he became angry.
6 Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite said, I am young, and you are aged; for that reason I was timid and restrained and dared not declare my opinion to you.
7 I said, Age should speak, and a multitude of years should teach wisdom [so let it be heard].
8 But there is [a vital force] a spirit [of intelligence] in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives men understanding.(I)
9 It is not the great [necessarily] who are wise, nor [always] the aged who understand justice.
10 So I say, Listen to me; I also will give you my opinion [about Job’s situation] and my knowledge.
11 You see, I waited for your words, I listened to your wise reasons, while you searched out what to say.
12 Yes, I paid attention to what you said, and behold, not one of you convinced Job or made [satisfactory] replies to his words [you could not refute him].
13 Beware lest you say, We have found wisdom; God thrusts [Job] down [justly], not man [God alone is dealing with him].
14 Now [Job] has not directed his words against me [therefore I have no cause for irritation], neither will I answer him with speeches like yours. [I speak for truth, not for revenge.]
15 [Job’s friends] are amazed and embarrassed, they answer no more; they have not a thing to say [reports Elihu].
16 And shall I wait, because they say nothing but stand still and answer no more?
17 I also will answer my [God-assigned] part; I also will declare my opinion and my knowledge.
18 For I am full of words; the spirit within me constrains me.
19 My breast is as wine that has no vent; like new wineskins, it is ready to burst.
20 I must speak, that I may get relief and be refreshed; I will open my lips and answer.
21 I will not [I warn you] be influenced by respect for any man’s person and show partiality, neither will I flatter any man.
22 For I know not how to flatter, [wasting my time in mere formalities, for then] my Maker would soon take me away.
33 Be that as it may, Job, I beg of you to hear what I have to say and give heed to all my words.
2 Behold, here I am with open mouth; here is my tongue talking.
3 My words shall express the uprightness of my heart, and my lips shall speak what they know with utter sincerity.
4 [It is] the Spirit of God that made me [which has stirred me up], and the breath of the Almighty that gives me life [which inspires me].
5 Answer me now, if you can; set your words in order before me; take your stand.
6 Behold, I am toward God and before Him even as you are; I also am formed out of the clay [though I speak with abnormal wisdom because of a divine illumination].
7 See my terror [for I am only a fellow mortal, not God]; I shall not make you afraid, neither shall my pressure be heavy upon you.
8 Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the voice of your words, saying,
9 I am clean, without transgression; I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me.
10 But behold, God finds occasions against me and causes of alienation and indifference; He counts me as His enemy.
11 He puts my feet in the stocks; He [untrustingly] watches all my paths [you say].
12 I reply to you, Behold, in this you are not just; God is superior to man.
13 Why do you contend against Him? For He does not give account of any of His actions. [Sufficient for us it should be to know that it is He Who does them.]
14 For God [does reveal His will; He] speaks not only once, but more than once, even though men do not regard it [including you, Job].
15 [One may hear God’s voice] in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men while slumbering upon the bed,
16 Then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction [terrifying them with warnings],
17 That He may withdraw man from his purpose and cut off pride from him [disgusting him with his own disappointing self-sufficiency].
18 He holds him back from the pit [of destruction], and his life from perishing by the sword [of God’s destructive judgments].
19 [God’s voice may be heard by man when] he is chastened with pain upon his bed and with continual strife in his bones or while all his bones are firmly set,
20 So that his desire makes him loathe food, and even dainty dishes [nauseate him].
21 His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out.
22 Yes, his soul draws near to corruption, and his life to the inflicters of death (the destroyers).
23 [God’s voice may be heard] if there is for the hearer a messenger or an angel, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show to man what is right for him [how to be upright and in right standing with God],
24 Then [God] is gracious to him and says, Deliver him from going down into the pit [of destruction]; I have found a ransom (a price of redemption, an atonement)!
25 [Then the man’s] flesh shall be restored; it becomes fresher and more tender than a child’s; he returns to the days of his youth.
26 He prays to God, and He is favorable to him, so that he sees His face with joy; for [God] restores to him his righteousness (his uprightness and right standing with God—with its joys).
27 He looks upon other men or sings out to them, I have sinned and perverted that which was right, and it did not profit me, or He did not requite me [according to my iniquity]!
28 [God] has redeemed my life from going down to the pit [of destruction], and my life shall see the light!
29 [Elihu comments] Behold, God does all these things twice, yes, three times, with a man,
30 To bring back his life from the pit [of destruction], that he may be enlightened with the light of the living.
31 Give heed, O Job, listen to me; hold your peace, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If [you do] not [have anything to say], listen to me; hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.
34 Elihu answered (continued his discourse) and said,
2 Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who have [so much] knowledge.
3 For the ear tries words as the palate tastes food.
4 Let us choose for ourselves that which is right; let us know among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, I am [innocent and uncompromisingly] righteous, but God has taken away my right;(J)
6 Would I lie against my right? Yet, notwithstanding my right, I am counted a liar. My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.
7 What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing and scorning like water,
8 Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity and walks with wicked men?
9 For he has said, It profits a man nothing that he should delight himself with God and consent to Him.
10 Therefore hear me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God that He should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that He should commit iniquity.
11 For according to the deeds of a man God will [exactly] proportion his pay, and He will cause every man to find [recompense] according to his ways.
12 Truly God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert justice.
13 Who put [God] in charge over the earth? Or who laid on Him the whole world?
14 If [God] should set His heart upon him [man] and withdraw His [life-giving] spirit and His breath [from man] to Himself,
15 All flesh would perish together, and man would turn again to dust.(K)
16 If now you have understanding, hear this; listen to my words.
17 Is it possible that an enemy of right should govern? And will you condemn Him Who is just and mighty?
18 [God] Who says to a king, You are worthless and vile, or to princes and nobles, You are ungodly and evil?
19 [God] is not partial to princes, nor does He regard the rich more than the poor, for they all are the work of His hands.
20 In a moment they die; even at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no [human] hand.
21 For [God’s] eyes are upon the ways of a man, and He sees all his steps.(L)
22 There is no darkness nor thick gloom where the evildoers may hide themselves.
23 [God] sets before man no appointed time, that he should appear before [Him] in judgment.
24 He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry [before a jury] and in ways past finding out and sets others in their stead.(M)
25 Therefore He takes knowledge of their works, and He overturns them in the night, so that they are crushed and destroyed.
26 God strikes them down as wicked men in the open sight of beholders,
27 Because they turned aside from Him and would not consider or show regard for any of His ways,(N)
28 So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, and He heard the cry of the afflicted.(O)
29 When He gives quietness (peace and security from oppression), who then can condemn? When He hides His face [withdrawing His favor and help], who then can behold Him [and make Him gracious], whether it be a nation or a man by himself?—
30 That the godless man may not reign, that there be no one to ensnare the people.
31 For has anyone said to God, I have borne my chastisement; I will not offend any more;
32 Teach me what I do not see [in regard to how I have sinned]; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more?
33 Should [God’s] recompense [for your sins] be as you will it, when you refuse to accept it? For you must do the choosing, and not I; therefore say what is your truthful conclusion.
34 Men of understanding will tell me, indeed, every wise man who hears me [will agree],
35 That Job speaks without knowledge, and his words are without wisdom and insight.
36 [Would that Job’s afflictions be continued and] he be tried to the end because of his answering like wicked men!
37 For he adds rebellion [in his unsubmissive, defiant attitude toward God] to his unacknowledged sin; he claps his hands [in open mockery and contempt of God] among us, and he multiplies his words of accusation against God.
35 Elihu spoke further [to Job] and said,
2 Do you think this is your right, or are you saying, My righteousness is more than God’s,
3 That you ask, What advantage have you? How am I profited more than if I had sinned?
4 I will answer you and your companions with you.
5 Look to the heavens and see; and behold the skies which are higher than you.
6 If you have sinned, how does that affect God? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what have you done to Him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you [by that] give God? Or what does He receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness touches and affects a man such as you are, and your righteousness is for yourself, one of the human race [but it cannot touch God, Who is above such influence].
9 Because of the multitudes of oppressions the people cry out; they cry for help because of the violence of the mighty.
10 But no one says, Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs of rejoicing in the night,(P)
11 Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?
12 [The people] cry out because of the pride of evil men, but He does not answer.
13 Surely God will refuse to answer [the cry which is] vanity (vain and empty—instead of abiding trust); neither will the Almighty regard it—
14 How much less when [missing His righteous judgment on earth] you say that you do not see Him, that your cause is before Him, and you are waiting for Him!
15 But now because God has not [speedily] punished in His anger and seems to be unaware of the wrong and oppression [of which a person is guilty],
16 Job uselessly opens his mouth and multiplies words without knowledge [drawing the worthless conclusion that the righteous have no more advantage than the wicked].
36 Elihu proceeded and said,
2 Bear with me and wait a little longer, and I will show you, for I have something still to say on God’s behalf.
3 I will bring my knowledge from afar and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4 For truly my words shall not be false; He Who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
5 Behold! God is mighty, and yet despises no one nor regards anything as trivial; He is mighty in power of understanding and heart.
6 He does not prolong the life of the wicked, but gives the needy and afflicted their right.
7 He withdraws not His eyes from the righteous (the upright in right standing with God); but He sets them forever with kings upon the throne, and they are exalted.
8 And if they are bound in fetters [of adversity] and held by cords of affliction,(Q)
9 Then He shows to them [the true character of] their deeds and their transgressions, that they have acted arrogantly [with presumption and self-sufficiency].
10 He also opens their ears to instruction and discipline, and commands that they return from iniquity.
11 If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness and joy.
12 But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword [of God’s destructive judgments], and they shall die in ignorance of true knowledge.
13 But the godless and profane in heart heap up anger [at the divine discipline]; they do not cry to Him when He binds them [with cords of affliction].(R)
14 They die in youth, and their life perishes among the unclean (those who are sodomites).
15 He delivers the afflicted in their affliction and opens their ears [to His voice] in adversity.
16 Indeed, God would have allured you out of the mouth of distress into a broad place where there is no situation of perplexity or privation; and that which would be set on your table would be full of fatness.
17 But if you [Job] are filled with the judgment of the wicked, judgment and justice will keep hold on you.
18 For let not wrath entice you into scorning chastisements; and let not the greatness of the ransom [the suffering, if rightly endured] turn you aside.
19 Will your cry be sufficient to keep you from distress, or will all the force of your strength do it?
20 Desire not the night, when peoples are cut off from their places;
21 Take heed, turn not to iniquity, for this [the iniquity of complaining against God] you have chosen rather than [submission in] affliction.
22 Behold, God exalts and does loftily in His power; who is a ruler or a teacher like Him?
23 Who has appointed God His way? Or who can say, You have done unrighteousness?
24 Remember that [by submission] you magnify God’s work, of which men have sung.
25 All men have looked upon God’s work; man may behold it afar off.
26 Behold, God is great, and we know Him not! The number of His years is unsearchable.(S)
27 For He draws up the drops of water, which distil as rain from His vapor,
28 Which the skies pour down and drop abundantly upon [the multitudes of] mankind.
29 Not only that, but can anyone understand the spreadings of the clouds or the thunderings of His pavilion?(T)
30 Behold, He spreads His lightning against the dark clouds and covers the roots of the sea.
31 For by [His clouds] God executes judgment upon the peoples; He gives food in abundance.
32 He covers His hands with the lightning and commands it to strike the mark.
33 His thunderings speak [awesomely] concerning Him; the cattle are told of His coming storm.
37 Indeed, [at His thunderings] my heart also trembles and leaps out of its place.
2 Hear, oh, hear the roar of His voice and the sound of rumbling that goes out of His mouth!
3 Under the whole heaven He lets it loose, and His lightning to the ends of the earth.
4 After it His voice roars; He thunders with the voice of His majesty, and He restrains not [His lightnings against His adversaries] when His voice is heard.
5 God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend.
6 For He says to the snow, Fall on the earth; likewise He speaks to the showers and to the downpour of His mighty rains.
7 God seals up (stops, brings to a standstill by severe weather) the hand of every man [and now under His seal their hands are forced to inactivity], that all men whom He has made may know His doings (His sovereign power and their subjection to it).
8 Then the beasts go into dens and remain in their lairs.
9 Out of its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds.
10 By the breath of God ice is given, and the breadth of the waters is frozen over.(U)
11 He loads the thick cloud with moisture; He scatters the cloud of His lightning.
12 And it is turned round about by His guidance, that they may do whatever He commands them upon the face of the habitable earth.
13 Whether it be for correction or for His earth [generally] or for His mercy and loving-kindness, He causes it to come.(V)
14 Hear this, O Job; stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
15 Do you know how God lays His command upon them and causes the lightning of His [storm] cloud to shine?
16 Do you know how the clouds are balanced [and poised in the heavens], the wonderful works of Him Who is perfect in knowledge?
17 [Or] why your garments are hot when He quiets the earth [in sultry summer] with the [oppressive] south wind?
18 Can you along with Him spread out the sky, [which is] strong as a molten mirror?
19 Tell us [Job] with what words of man we may address such a Being; we cannot state our case because we are in the dark [in the presence of the unsearchable God].
20 So shall it be told Him that I wish to speak? If a man speaks, shall he be swallowed up?
21 And now men cannot look upon the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them.
22 Golden brightness and splendor come out of the north; [if men can scarcely look upon it, how much less upon the] terrible splendor and majesty God has upon Himself!
23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find Him out; He is excellent in power; and to justice and plenteous righteousness He does no violence [He will disregard no right].(W)
24 Men therefore [reverently] fear Him; He regards and respects not any who are wise in heart [in their own understanding and conceit].(X)
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
2 Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?(Y)
3 Gird up now your loins like a man, and I will demand of you, and you declare to Me.
4 Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare to Me, if you have and know understanding.
5 Who determined the measures of the earth, if you know? Or who stretched the measuring line upon it?
6 Upon what were the foundations of it fastened, or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Or who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth and issued out of the womb?—
9 When I made the clouds the garment of it, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it,
10 And marked for it My appointed boundary and set bars and doors,(Z)
11 And said, Thus far shall you come and no farther; and here shall your proud waves be stayed?(AA)
12 Have you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 So that [light] may get hold of the corners of the earth and shake the wickedness [of night] out of it?
14 It is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed; and things stand out like a many-colored garment.
15 From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken.
16 Have you explored the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of deep darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know it all.
19 Where is the [e]way where light dwells? And as for darkness, where is its abode,
20 That you may conduct it to its home, and may know the paths to its house?
21 You must know, since you were born then! Or because you are so extremely old!
22 Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasuries of the hail,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?(AB)
24 By what way is the light distributed, or the east wind spread over the earth?
25 Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain, or a path for the thunderbolt,
26 To cause it to rain on the uninhabited land [and] on the desert where no man lives,
27 To satisfy the waste and desolate ground and to cause the tender grass to spring forth?
28 Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30 The waters are congealed like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades, or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the signs of the zodiac in their season? Or can you guide [the stars of] the Bear with her young?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule upon the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an abundance of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send lightnings, that they may go and say to you, Here we are?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts [or in the dark clouds]? Or who has given understanding to the mind [or to the meteor]?
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the [water] bottles of the heavens
38 When [heat has caused] the dust to run into a mass and the clods to cleave fast together?
39 Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion? Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions
40 When they couch in their dens or lie in wait in their hiding place?
41 Who provides for the raven its prey when its young ones cry to God and wander about for lack of food?
39 Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth [their young]? [Or] do you observe when the hinds are giving birth? [Do you attend to all this, Job?]
2 Can you number the months that they carry their offspring? Or do you know the time when they are delivered,
3 When they bow themselves, bring forth their young ones, [and] cast out their pains?
4 Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field; they go forth and return not to them.
5 Who has sent out the wild donkey, giving him his freedom? Or who has loosed the bands of the swift donkey [by which his tame brother is bound—he, the shy, the swift-footed, and the untamable],
6 Whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city and hears not the shoutings of the taskmaster.
8 The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.
9 Will the wild ox be willing to serve you, or remain beside your manger?
10 Can you bind the wild ox with a harness to the plow in the furrow? Or will he harrow the furrows for you?
11 Will you trust him because his strength is great, or to him will you leave your labor?
12 Will you depend upon him to bring home your seed and gather the grain of your threshing floor? [Who, Job, was the author of this strange variance in the disposition of animals so alike in appearance? Was it you?]
13 The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, [but] are they the pinions and plumage of love?
14 The ostrich leaves her eggs on the ground and warms them in the dust,
15 Forgetting that a foot may crush them or that the wild beast may trample them.
16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers; her labor is in vain because she has no sense of danger [for her unborn brood],
17 For God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has He imparted to her understanding.
18 Yet when she lifts herself up in flight, [so swift is she that] she can laugh to scorn the horse and his rider.
19 Have you given the horse his might? Have you clothed his neck with quivering and a shaking mane?
20 Was it you [Job] who made him to leap like a locust? The majesty of his [snorting] nostrils is terrible.
21 He paws in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons [of armed men].
22 He mocks at fear and is not dismayed or terrified; neither does he turn back [in battle] from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles upon him, as do the glittering spear and the lance [of his rider].
24 [He seems in running to] devour the ground with fierceness and rage; neither can he stand still at the sound of the [war] trumpet.
25 As often as the trumpet sounds he says, Ha, ha! And he smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 Is it by your wisdom [Job] that the hawk soars and stretches her wings toward the south [as winter approaches]?
27 Does the eagle mount up at your command and make his nest on [a] high [inaccessible place]?
28 On the cliff he dwells and remains securely, upon the point of the rock and the stronghold.
29 From there he spies out the prey; and his eyes see it afar off.
30 His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he.
40 Moreover, the Lord said to Job,
2 Shall he who would find fault with the Almighty contend with Him? He who disputes with God, let him answer it.
3 Then Job replied to the Lord:
4 Behold, I am of small account and vile! What shall I answer You? I lay my hand upon my mouth.(AC)
5 I have spoken once, but I will not reply again—indeed, twice [have I answered], but I will proceed no further.
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, saying,
7 Gird up your loins now like a man; I will demand of you, and you answer Me.
8 Will you also annul (set aside and render void) My judgment? Will you condemn Me [your God], that you may [appear] righteous and justified?
9 Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?
10 [Since you question the manner of the Almighty’s rule] deck yourself now with the excellency and dignity [of the Supreme Ruler, and yourself undertake the government of the world if you are so wise], and array yourself with honor and majesty.
11 Pour forth the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him;
12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low, and tread down the wicked where they stand [if you are so able, Job].
13 [Bury and] hide them all in the dust together; [and] shut them up [in the prison house of death].
14 [If you can do all this, Job, proving yourself of divine might] then will I [God] praise you also [and acknowledge that] your own right hand can save you.
15 Behold now the behemoth (the hippopotamus), which I created as I did you; he eats grass like an ox.
16 See now, his strength is in his loins, and his power is in the sinews of his belly.
17 He moves his tail like a cedar tree; the tendons of his thighs are twisted together [like a rope].
18 His bones are like tubes of bronze; his limbs [or ribs] are like bars of iron.
19 [The hippopotamus] is the first [in magnitude and power] of the works of God [in animal life]; [only] He Who made him provides him with his [swordlike tusks, or only God Who made him can bring near His sword to master him].
20 Surely the mountains bring him food, where all the wild animals play.
21 He lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reeds in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade; the willows of the brook compass him about.
23 Behold, if a river is violent and overflows, he does not tremble; he is confident, though the Jordan [River] swells and rushes against his mouth.
24 Can any take him when he is on the watch, or pierce through his nose with a snare?
41 Can you draw out the leviathan (the crocodile) with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord?
2 Can you put a rope into his nose? Or pierce his jaw through with a hook or a spike?
3 Will he make many supplications to you [begging to be spared]? Will he speak soft words to you [to coax you to treat him kindly]?
4 Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever?
5 Will you play with [the crocodile] as with a bird? Or will you put him on a leash for your maidens?
6 Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons? Or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand upon him! Remember your battle with him; you will not do [such an ill-advised thing] again!
9 Behold, the hope of [his assailant] is disappointed; one is cast down even at the sight of him!
10 No one is so fierce [and foolhardy] that he dares to stir up [the crocodile]; who then is he who can stand before Me [the beast’s Creator, or dares to contend with Me]?
11 Who has first given to Me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heavens is Mine. [Therefore, who can have a claim against God, God Who made the unmastered crocodile?](AD)
12 I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
13 Who can strip off [the crocodile’s] outer garment? [Who can penetrate his double coat of mail?] Who shall come within his jaws?
14 Who can open the doors of his [lipless] mouth? His [extended jaws and bare] teeth are terrible round about.
15 His scales are [the crocodile’s] pride, [for his back is made of rows of shields] shut up together [as with] a tight seal;
16 One is so near to another that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another; they stick together so that they cannot be separated.
18 His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the [reddish] eyelids of the dawn.
19 Out of his mouth go burning torches, [and] sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils goes forth smoke, as out of a seething pot over a fire of rushes.
21 His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes forth from his mouth.
22 In [the crocodile’s] neck abides strength, and terror dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh cleave together; they are firm upon him, and they cannot shake [when he moves].
24 His heart is as firm as a stone, indeed, as solid as a nether millstone.
25 When [the crocodile] raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; because of terror and the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Even if one strikes at him with the sword, it cannot get any hold, nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He counts iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make [the crocodile] flee; slingstones are treated by him as stubble.
29 Clubs [also] are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rushing and the rattling of the javelin.
30 His underparts are like sharp pieces of broken pottery; he spreads [grooves like] a threshing sledge upon the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a [foaming] pot of ointment.
32 [His swift darting] makes a shining track behind him; one would think the deep to be hoary [with foam].
33 Upon earth there is not [the crocodile’s] equal, a creature made without fear and he behaves fearlessly.
34 He looks all mighty [beasts of prey] in the face [without terror]; he is monarch over all the sons of pride. [And now, Job, [f]who are you who dares not arouse the unmastered crocodile, yet who dares resist Me, the beast’s Creator, to My face? Everything under the heavens is Mine; therefore, who can have a claim against God?]
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation