Bible in 90 Days
Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will you speak these things,
and the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?
3 Does God pervert judgment?
Or does the Almighty pervert justice?
4 If your children sinned against Him,
He cast them away for their transgression.
5 If you yourself would seek God earnestly,
and seek favor from the Almighty,
6 if you were pure and upright,
surely now He would rouse Himself on your behalf,
and He would prosper your righteous dwelling.
7 Though your beginning was small,
your end will increase greatly.
8 “Please, ask the former generation,
and prepare yourself for what their fathers searched out;
9 for we were born but yesterday and know nothing,
because our days on earth are a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you, and tell you,
and bring forth words out of their heart?
11 Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the reed grow without water?
12 While it is yet green and not cut down,
it withers before any other plant.
13 So are the paths of all who forget God;
and the hypocrite’s hope will perish,
14 whose confidence will be cut off,
and whose trust will be a spider’s web.
15 He will lean upon his house, but it will not stand;
he will hold it fast, but it will not endure.
16 He is green before the sun,
and his branch shoots forth in his garden.
17 His roots are wrapped around the rock heap,
and he sees the place of stones.
18 If he is uprooted from his place,
then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’
19 See, this is the joy of his way,
and out of the ground others will grow.
20 “Surely, God will not cast away a perfect man,
nor will He strengthen the evildoers,
21 until He fills your mouth with laughing,
and your lips with rejoicing.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
and the dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing.”
Job Replies: There Is No Mediator
9 Then Job answered:
2 “Truly, I know it is so,
but how can a man be righteous with God?
3 If one would dispute with Him,
he cannot answer Him once in a thousand times.
4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
5 He who removes mountains, and they know not,
who overturns them in His anger.
6 He who shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble.
7 He who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
he seals off the stars.
8 He who alone spreads out the heavens,
and treads on the waves of the sea.
9 He who makes the Bear, Orion, and Pleiades,
and the constellations of the south.
10 He who does great things, beyond discovery,
yes, and wonders beyond number.
11 Yes, He would cross before me, and I would not see Him;
He would pass on by, but I would not perceive Him.
12 Yes, He takes away; who can hinder Him?
Who will say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13 God will not withdraw His anger.
The proud helpers bow down beneath Him.
14 “How, then, can I myself answer Him,
and choose my words to reason with Him?
15 Even if I were righteous I could not answer;
I would plead to my Judge for favor.
16 If I called, and He answered me,
I would not believe that He had listened to my voice.
17 For He crushes me with a storm
and multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 He will not allow me to get my breath,
but fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of strength, indeed, He is strong;
and if of justice, who will set me a time to plead?
20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;
though I were perfect, it would prove me perverse.
21 “Though I were perfect,
I would not know myself;
I would despise my life.
22 It is all one thing; therefore I said,
‘He destroys both the perfect and the wicked.’
23 If the whip kills suddenly,
He will laugh at the trial of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?
25 “Now my days are swifter than a runner;
they flee away; they see no good.
26 They pass by like reed skiffs,
like an eagle rushing upon its prey.
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint;
I will leave off my sad face and brighten up,’
28 I am afraid of all my sorrows;
I know that You will not hold me innocent.
29 If I am guilty,
why then do I labor in vain?
30 If I wash myself with snow water
and cleanse my hands with soap,
31 yet You will plunge me into the pit,
and my own clothes will abhor me.
32 “For He is not a man as I am, that I should answer Him,
and we should come together in judgment.
33 Nor is there a mediator between us,
who may lay his hand upon us both.
34 Let Him take His rod away from me,
and let not dread of Him terrify me.
35 Then I would speak and not fear Him,
but it is not so with me.
Job: I Abhor My Life
10 “My soul loathes my life;
I will freely give my complaint,
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, Do not condemn me;
show me why You contend with me.
3 Is it good for You that You should oppress,
that You should despise the work of Your hands
and smile on the counsel of the wicked?
4 Do You have eyes of flesh?
Or do You see as man sees?
5 Are Your days as the days of man?
Are Your years as the days of a mortal,
6 that You inquire after my iniquity
and search after my sin?
7 You know that I am not wicked,
and there is none who can deliver out of Your hand.
8 “Your hands have shaped me and made me completely,
yet You destroy me.
9 Remember, I pray,
that You have made me as the clay.
And would You return me to dust?
10 Have You not poured me out as milk
and curdled me like cheese?
11 You have clothed me with skin and flesh,
and have knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and loyal love,
and Your care has preserved my spirit.
13 “These things You have hid in Your heart.
I know that this is with You.
14 If I have sinned, then You would watch me,
and You would not acquit me from my iniquity.
15 If I am wicked, woe unto me;
and if I am righteous, yet will I not lift up my head.
I am full of shame;
look at my affliction!
16 For if my head is lifted up, You would hunt me like a lion,
and again You show Yourself marvelous to me.
17 You renew Your witnesses against me
and increase Your indignation upon me.
Your troops come against me.
18 “Why then did You bring me forth out of the womb?
Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me!
19 I should have been as though I had not been;
I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
20 Are not my days few? Stop then,
and leave me alone that I may cheer up a little,
21 before I go and do not return,
even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death,
22 a land of darkness, as darkness itself;
and of the shadow of death, without any order,
and where the light is as thick darkness.”
Zophar Speaks: Job Is Guilty
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should a man full of talk be justified?
3 Should your empty talk make men hold their peace?
And when you mock, will no one shame you?
4 For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure,
And I am clean in your eyes.’
5 But oh, that God would speak
and open His lips against you,
6 and that He would show you the secrets of wisdom!
For they would double your prudence.
And know that God overlooks some of your iniquity.
7 “Can you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the totality of the Almighty?
8 It is as high as heaven; what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol; what can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth
and broader than the sea.
10 “If He passes through, and shuts up, and gathers together for judgment,
then who can hinder Him?
11 For He knows worthless men;
He sees wickedness also; will He not then consider it?
12 For an empty-headed man will become wise,
when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.
13 “If you prepare your heart
and stretch out your hands toward Him;
14 if iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
and do not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
15 for then you will lift up your face without blemish;
yes, you will be steadfast and will not fear,
16 because you will forget misery,
and remember it as waters that pass away,
17 and your life will be brighter than noonday,
even your darkness will be as the morning.
18 You will trust because there is hope;
yes, you will search about you,
and you will look around and rest in safety.
19 Also you will lie down, and none will make you afraid;
yes, many will court your favor.
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
and they will not escape,
and their hope will be as the giving up of breath.”
Job Replies
12 And Job answered:
2 “No doubt but you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Yes, who does not know such things as these?
4 “I am a laughingstock to my neighbor,
who calls upon God, and He answers him;
the righteous, upright man is a laughingstock.
5 He whose foot is unsteady
is despised in the thoughts of him who is at ease.
6 The tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure,
into whose hand they bring their own god.
7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
and the birds of the air, and let them tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, let it teach you;
and let the fish of the sea declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 in whose hand is the soul of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind?
11 Does not the ear test words
and the mouth taste its food?
12 Wisdom is with the elderly,
and understanding comes with long life.
13 “With Him are wisdom and strength;
He has counsel and understanding.
14 Surely, He tears down, and it cannot be built again;
He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.
15 Surely, He withholds the waters, and they dry up;
also He sends them out, and they overthrow the earth.
16 With Him are strength and wisdom.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away stripped
and makes fools of judges.
18 He has loosened the bonds imposed by kings
and bound their waist with a belt.
19 He leads away priests stripped
and overthrows the mighty.
20 He removes speech from the trusted ones
and takes away the understanding of the aged.
21 He pours contempt upon princes
and loosens the belt of the mighty.
22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness
and brings the shadow of death to light.
23 He increases the nations and destroys them;
He enlarges the nations and guides them.
24 He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
25 They grope in the dark without light,
and He makes them to stagger like a drunk man.
13 “Notice, my eye has seen all this;
my ear has heard and understood it.
2 What you know, I also know the same;
I am not inferior to you.
3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty,
and I desire to reason with God.
4 But you are plasterers of falsehood;
you are all physicians of no value.
5 Oh, that you would altogether hold your peace,
and it would be your wisdom!
6 Hear now my reasoning,
and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
7 Will you speak wickedly for God?
And talk deceitfully for Him?
8 Will you take His side?
Will you plead for God?
9 Is it good that He would search you out?
Or as one man mocks another, do you so mock Him?
10 He will surely rebuke you,
if you secretly show partiality.
11 Will not His excellence make you afraid,
and the dread of Him fall upon you?
12 Your reminders are parables made of ashes;
your answers are answers made of clay.
13 “Hold your peace; leave me alone, that I may speak,
and let come on me what may!
14 Why do I take my flesh in my teeth
and put my life in my hand?
15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him,[a]
but I will defend my own ways before Him.
16 He also will be my salvation,
for a hypocrite could not come before Him.
17 Listen carefully to my speech,
and to my declaration with your ears.
18 See now, I have prepared my case;
I know that I will be justified.
19 Who is he who will plead with me?
For now, if I hold my tongue, I will give up my breath.
20 “Only grant me two things,
then I will not hide myself from You:
21 Withdraw Your hand far from me,
and let not the dread of You make me afraid.
22 Then call, and I will answer;
or let me speak, and You answer me.
23 How many are my iniquities and sins?
Make known to me my transgression and my sin.
24 Why do You hide Your face
and regard me as Your enemy?
25 Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro?
And will You pursue dry stubble?
26 For You write bitter things against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27 You put my feet in the stocks
and watch closely all my paths;
You draw a line around the soles of my feet.
28 “Man, as a rotten thing, decays,
as a garment that is moth eaten.
14 “Man who is born of a woman
is of few days and full of trouble.
2 He comes forth like a flower and withers;
he flees like a shadow and does not continue.
3 Do You open Your eyes on such a one,
and bring me into judgment with You?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
There is no one.
5 Seeing his days are determined,
the number of his months are with You;
You have appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6 turn from him, that he may rest,
until he, as a hired man, finishes his day.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its tender shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root may grow old in the earth,
and its stump may die in the ground,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and bring forth boughs like a plant.
10 But man dies and wastes away;
yes, man gives up his breath, and where is he?
11 As the waters disappear from the sea,
and the flood shrivels and dries up,
12 so man lies down and does not rise;
until the heavens are no more, he will not awake,
nor be raised out of his sleep.
13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
that You would appoint me a set time
and remember me!
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my service I will wait,
until my relief comes.
15 You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for the work of Your hands.
16 For now You number my steps;
do You not observe my sin?
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
and You plaster over my iniquity.
18 “Surely the mountain falling comes to nothing,
and the rock is removed out of its place.
19 The waters wear away the stones;
its overflow washes away the dust of the earth;
and You destroy the hope of man.
20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
changing his countenance, You send him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
and they are brought low, but he does not perceive it.
22 But his flesh on him will have pain,
and his soul within him will mourn.”
Eliphaz Speaks: Job Does Not Fear God
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Should a wise man reply with empty knowledge
and fill his lungs with the east wind?
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk
or with speeches with which he can do no good?
4 Yes, you cast off reverence
and hinder prayer before God.
5 For your mouth utters your iniquity,
and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
yes, your own lips testify against you.
7 “Are you the first man who was born?
Or were you made before the hills?
8 Have you heard the counsel of God?
And do you restrict wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?
10 Both the gray-haired and very aged are among us—
much older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you?
Or the word spoken gently to you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away?
And what do your eyes wink at,
13 that you turn your spirit against God,
and let such words go out of your mouth?
14 “What is man that he should be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones,
and the heavens are not pure in His sight.
16 How much more abhorred and corrupt is man,
who drinks iniquity like water!
17 “I will tell you; hear me,
and what I have seen I will declare,
18 what wise men have told,
not hiding anything received from their fathers,
19 to whom alone the land was given,
and no foreigner passed among them:
20 The wicked man travails with pain all his days,
and numbered are the years stored up for the oppressor.
21 A dreadful sound is in his ears;
in prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.
22 He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
and a sword awaits him.
23 He wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24 Trouble and anguish will make him afraid;
they will prevail against him as a king ready to the battle.
25 For he stretches out his hand against God,
and strengthens himself against the Almighty.
26 He rushes upon Him, even on His neck,
with his thick embossed shield.
27 “He has covered his face with his fatness
and gathered fat upon his waist.
28 He dwells in desolate cities
and in houses which no man inhabits,
which are ready to become heaps.
29 He will not be rich, nor will his wealth continue,
nor will his possessions spread over the earth.
30 He will not depart out of darkness;
the flame will dry out his branches,
and by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
31 Let him who is deceived not trust in futility,
for futility will be his reward.
32 It will be accomplished before his time,
and his branch will not be green.
33 He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine,
and will cast off his blossom like the olive.
34 For the company of hypocrites will be desolate,
and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief, and give birth to futility;
their womb prepares deceit.”
Job Replies: You Are Miserable Comforters
16 Then Job answered:
2 “I have heard many such things;
miserable comforters are you all!
3 Will windy words have an end?
Or what provokes you that you answer?
4 I also could speak as you do,
if your soul were in my place.
I could heap up words against you
and shake my head at you;
5 but I would strengthen you with my mouth,
and the moving of my lips would relieve your grief.
6 “Though I speak, my grief is not relieved;
and though I stop, how am I eased?
7 But now He has made me weary;
You have made desolate all my company.
8 You have filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me;
and my leanness has risen up and bears witness to my face.
9 He has torn me in His wrath, and He has carried a grudge against me.
He has gnashed me with His teeth;
my enemy sharpens His gaze upon me.
10 They have gaped upon me with their mouth;
they have struck me upon the cheek with reproach;
they have gathered themselves together against me.
11 God has delivered me to the ungodly
and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at ease, but He has shattered me.
He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces,
and set me up for His target.
13 His archers surround me;
He splits open my kidneys and does not pity;
He pours out my gall upon the ground.
14 He pierces me with thrust after thrust;
He rushes upon me like a warrior.
15 “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin
and thrust my horn into the dust.
16 My face is inflamed with weeping,
and on my eyelids is the shadow of death,
17 though not for any violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,
and let my cry have no resting place.
19 Also now, look, my witness is in heaven,
and my record is on high.
20 My friends scorn me;
my eyes pour out tears unto God.
21 Oh, that one might plead for a man with God,
as a man pleads for his neighbor!
22 “For when a few years have passed,
I will go the way from which I will not return.
Job Prays for Relief
17 “My spirit is broken,
my days are extinguished,
the grave is ready for me.
2 Are not mockers with me?
And does not my eye dwell on their provocation?
3 “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself.
Who is he who will shake hands with me?
4 For You have hidden their heart from understanding.
Therefore will You not exalt them.
5 He who speaks flattery to his friends,
even the eyes of his children will fail.
6 “And He has made me a byword of the people,
someone in whose face they spit.
7 My eye also is dim because of sorrow,
and all my members are like a shadow.
8 Upright men will be astonished at this,
and the innocent will stir up himself against the hypocrite.
9 The righteous also will hold to his way,
and he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.
10 “But as for you all, return and come now,
for I cannot find one wise man among you.
11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off,
even the thoughts of my heart.
12 They change the night into day;
the light is short because of darkness.
13 If I wait, the grave is my house;
I have made my bed in the darkness.
14 I have said to the pit, ‘You are my father’;
to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister.’
15 Where now is my hope?
As for my hope, who will see it?
16 Will they go down to the gates of Sheol?
Will we descend together in the dust?”
Bildad Speaks: God Punishes the Wicked
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will it be until you put an end to words?
Gain understanding, and afterwards we will speak.
3 Why are we counted as beasts
and regarded as stupid in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself in anger,
will the earth be forsaken for you?
And will the rock be removed from its place?
5 “Yes, the light of the wicked will be put out,
and the spark of his fire will not shine.
6 The light will be dark in his tent,
and his candle beside him will be put out.
7 The steps of his strength will be shortened,
and his own counsel will cast him down.
8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
and he walks upon a snare.
9 The trap will take him by the heel,
and the snare will prevail against him.
10 The snare is laid for him in the ground,
and a trap for him in the path.
11 Terrors will make him afraid on every side
and will drive him to his feet.
12 His strength will be hungry,
and destruction will be ready at his side.
13 It will devour the parts of his skin;
the firstborn of death will devour his limbs.
14 His confidence will be rooted out of his tent,
and it will bring him to the king of terrors.
15 They dwell in his tent who have no part with him;
brimstone will be scattered upon his habitation.
16 His roots will be dried up beneath,
and above his branch will dry up.
17 The memory of him will perish from the earth,
and he will have no name in the street.
18 He will be driven from light into darkness,
and chased out of the world.
19 He has neither descendant nor posterity among his people,
nor anyone remaining in his dwellings.
20 They who come after him will be astonished at his day,
as they who went before were seized with fright.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
and this is the place of him who does not know God.”
Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives
19 Then Job answered:
2 “How long will you torment my soul
and break me in pieces with words?
3 These ten times you have reproached me;
you are not ashamed that you have wronged me.
4 And if indeed I have erred,
my error remains with me.
5 If indeed you exalt yourselves against me
and plead against me with my disgrace,
6 know now that God has bent me
and has surrounded me with His net.
7 “Look, I cry out concerning wrong, but I am not heard;
I cry aloud, but there is no justice.
8 He has fenced up my way that I cannot pass,
and He has set darkness in my paths.
9 He has stripped me of my glory
and taken the crown from my head.
10 He has destroyed me on every side, and I am gone;
my hope He has uprooted like a tree.
11 He has also kindled His wrath against me,
and He counts me as one of His enemies.
12 His troops come together
and build up their road against me;
they set up camp all around my tent.
13 “He has removed my brothers far from me,
and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14 My relatives have failed,
and my close friends have forgotten me.
15 Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants,
count me for a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.
16 I called my servant, but he gave me no answer;
I begged him with my mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife;
I am loathsome to the children of my own body.
18 Yes, young children despise me;
I arose, and they spoke against me.
19 All my close friends abhorred me,
and they whom I love are turned against me.
20 My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh,
and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 “Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O you my friends,
for the hand of God has struck me!
22 Why do you persecute me as God does,
and are not satisfied with my flesh?
23 “Oh, that my words were written!
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
24 That they were engraved with an iron pen
and lead in the rock forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and He will stand at last on the earth;
26 and after my skin is destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God,
27 whom I will see for myself,
and my eyes will behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me.
28 “If you should say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’
since the root of the matter is found in me,
29 be afraid of the sword for yourselves;
for wrath brings the punishments of the sword,
that you may know there is a judgment.”
Zophar Speaks: The Wicked Will Suffer
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “Therefore my thoughts cause me to answer,
and for this I make haste.
3 I have heard the rebuke that disgraces me,
and the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
4 “Do you not know this of old,
since man was placed upon earth,
5 that the triumphing of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?
6 Though his loftiness extends to the heavens,
and his head reaches to the clouds,
7 yet he will perish forever like his own excrement;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 He will fly away like a dream and will not be found;
yes, he will be chased away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more;
nor will his place behold him anymore.
10 His children will seek favor from the poor,
and his hands will give back his wealth.
11 His bones are full of his youthful vigor,
but it will lie down with him in the dust.
12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
and he hides it under his tongue,
13 though he spares it and does not forsake it,
but keeps it in his mouth,
14 yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
it becomes the venom of cobras within him.
15 He has swallowed down riches,
and he will vomit them up again;
God will cast them out of his belly.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras;
the viper’s tongue will slay him.
17 He will not see the streams, the rivers,
the brooks of honey and butter.
18 He will give back the produce of labor and will not swallow it down.
According to his wealth the restitution will be, and he will not rejoice in it;
19 because he has oppressed and has forsaken the poor.
He has violently taken away a house that he did not build.
20 “Because he knows no quietness in his belly,
he will not save anything he desired.
21 Nothing is left for him to eat;
therefore his prosperity will not endure.
22 In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
every hand of misery will come upon him.
23 When he is about to fill his belly,
God will cast the fury of His wrath on him
and will rain it on him while he is eating.
24 He will flee from the iron weapon;
a bronze bow will pierce him through.
25 It is drawn and comes out of the body;
yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall.
Terrors are upon him.
26 Total darkness is stored up for his treasures.
An unfanned fire will consume him;
what is left in his tent will be consumed.
27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house will depart,
and his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.
29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God,
and the inheritance appointed to him by God.”
Job Replies: The Wicked Do Prosper
21 But Job answered:
2 “Listen carefully to my speech,
and let this be your consolation.
3 Bear with me that I may speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.
4 “As for me, is my complaint against man?
And if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?
5 Look at me and be astonished,
and put your hand over your mouth.
6 Even when I remember I am afraid,
and trembling takes hold of my body.
7 Why do the wicked live and become old;
yes, become mighty in power?
8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
nor is the rod of God upon them.
10 Their bull breeds without failure;
their cow gives calves without miscarriage.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock,
and their children dance.
12 They take up the tambourine and harp
and rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13 They spend their days in wealth,
and in a moment go down to Sheol.
14 Therefore they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
16 Indeed, their prosperity is not in their hand.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their destruction come upon them,
the sorrows God distributes in His anger?
18 They are like straw before the wind,
and like chaff that a storm carries away.
19 God stores up their iniquity for their children;
let Him reward the people themselves, and they will know it.
20 Let their eyes see their own destruction,
and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what do they care about their households after them,
when the number of their months is cut off?
22 “Can anyone teach God knowledge,
since He judges those who are on high?
23 One dies in his full strength,
being wholly at ease and secure.
24 His pails are full of milk,
and the marrow of his bones is moist.
25 Another dies in the bitterness of his soul,
never having eaten with pleasure.
26 They will lie down alike in the dust,
and worms will cover them.
27 “Behold, I know your thoughts,
and the schemes with which you would wrong me.
28 For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?
And where are the dwelling places of the wicked?’
29 Have you not asked them who travel the road?
And do you not know their signs?
30 For the wicked are reserved for the day of destruction;
they will be brought forth on the day of wrath.
31 Who will declare his way to his face?
And who will repay him for what he has done?
32 Yet will he be brought to the grave
and will remain in the tomb.
33 The clods of the valley will be sweet unto him;
and everyone will follow him,
as countless have gone before.
34 “How then can you comfort me with emptiness,
since deceit remains in your answers?”
Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Can a man be profitable to God,
as he who is wise may be profitable to himself?
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?
4 “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
and enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your wickedness great,
and your iniquity infinite?
6 For you have taken a pledge from your brother for nothing,
and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have not given water to the weary to drink,
and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8 But as for the mighty man, he possessed the earth,
and the honorable man lived in it.
9 You have sent widows away empty,
and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
10 Therefore snares are all around you,
and sudden fear troubles you,
11 or darkness, so that you cannot see;
and an abundance of waters covers you.
12 “Is not God in the height of heaven?
And see the height of the stars, how high they are!
13 And you say, ‘What does God know?
Can He judge through the dark cloud?
14 Thick clouds are His covering, so He cannot see;
and He walks above the circle of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way,
that wicked men have trod?
16 They were cut down before their time;
their foundations were swept away by a flood.
17 They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’
and, ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 Yet He filled their houses with good things;
but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 “The righteous see it and are glad,
and the innocent laugh them to scorn:
20 ‘Surely our adversaries are cut down,
and the fire consumes their remnant.’
21 “Now acquaint yourself with Him and be at peace;
thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive, I pray, the teaching from His mouth,
and lay up His words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;
you will put away iniquity far from your tents.
24 Then you will lay up gold as dust,
and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
25 Yes, the Almighty will be your gold
and your precious silver;
26 for then you will delight yourself in the Almighty,
and will lift up your face unto God.
27 You will make your prayer to Him, and He will hear you,
and you will pay your vows.
28 You will also declare a matter, and it will be established unto you;
and the light will shine upon your ways.
29 When men are cast down, and you say, ‘There is a time of exaltation!’
then He will save the humble person.
30 He will even deliver one who is not innocent;
he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”
Job Replies: My Complaint Is Grievous
23 Then Job answered:
2 “Today also my complaint is bitter;
my hand is heavy because of my groaning.
3 Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
that I might come even to His seat!
4 I would present my case before Him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words that He would answer me
and understand what He would say to me.
6 Will He plead against me with His great power?
No! But He would take note of me.
7 There the righteous might dispute with Him;
so would I be delivered forever from my Judge.
8 “Look, I go forward, but He is not there,
and backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
9 when He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the way that I take;
when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
11 My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and have not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
13 “But He is resolute, and who can turn Him?
And whatever His soul desires, that He does.
14 For He performs what is appointed for me,
and many such things are with Him.
15 Therefore I am troubled at His presence;
when I consider, I am afraid of Him.
16 For God makes my heart soft,
and the Almighty troubles me;
17 because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness,
nor has He covered the darkness from my face.
24 “Since times of judgment are not kept by the Almighty,
why do they who know Him not see His days?
2 Some remove the landmarks;
they violently take away flocks and feed on them.
3 They drive away the donkey of the orphan;
they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They turn away the needy;
the poor of the earth are forced to hide.
5 Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert,
they go out to their work, rising early for a prey.
The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field,
and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing,
and they have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains
and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
9 They snatch the fatherless from the breast
and take a pledge from the poor.
10 They cause him to go naked without clothing,
and they take away the sheaf from the hungry.
11 They press out oil within their walls
and tread their winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 Men groan from outside the city,
and the soul of the wounded cries out;
yet God does not charge them with wrong.
13 “They are those who rebel against the light;
they do not know its ways
nor abide in its paths.
14 The murderer, rising with the light, kills the poor and needy,
and in the night he is like a thief.
15 Also the eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
and he disguises his face.
16 In the dark they break into houses,
which they had marked for themselves in the daytime;
they do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;
if someone recognizes them,
they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
18 “He is swift as the waters.
Their portion is cursed in the earth.
They do not turn toward the way of the vineyards.
19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters;
so the grave consumes those who have sinned.
20 The womb will forget him;
the worm will feed sweetly on him;
he will be remembered no more,
and wickedness will be broken like a tree.
21 He preys on the barren who do not bear,
and does no good for the widow.
22 But God draws the mighty away with His power;
He rises up, and no man is sure of life.
23 He gives them security, and they rely on it;
yet His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while but are gone and brought low;
they are taken out of the way like all others
and cut off as the tops of the grain.
25 “If it is not so, who will prove me a liar
and make my speech worth nothing?”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.