Chronological
Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just
6 But Job answered:
2 “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed,
and my calamity laid with it on the scales!
3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
therefore my words are stuck in my throat.
4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me;
my spirit drinks in their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass?
Or the ox bellow over his fodder?
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt?
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
7 My soul refuses to touch them;
they are like loathsome food to me.
8 “Oh, that I might have my request,
and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
9 That it would please God to crush me,
that He would let loose His hand and cut me off!
10 Then I would still have comfort;
I would revel in pain; it will not subside,
for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
11 “What strength do I have, that I should hope?
And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones?
Or is my flesh made of brass?
13 Is there no help within me?
And is success banished from me?
14 “A despairing man should be shown kindness from his friend,
or he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers have acted deceitfully like a riverbed,
like the streams of the riverbeds that run dry;
16 which are dark because of the ice,
and into which the snow disappears.
17 In time they are scorched; they vanish!
When it is hot, they disappear from their place.
18 The caravans of their way turn aside;
they go nowhere, and they perish.
19 The caravans of Tema looked,
the travelers of Sheba hoped for them.
20 They were disappointed because they were confident;
they arrived there and were dismayed.
21 For now you are nothing;
you see terror and are afraid.
22 Did I say, ‘Give to me’?
Or, ‘Out of your wealth, bribe me’?
23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the power of the enemy’?
Or, ‘From the power of the oppressors, liberate me’?
24 “Teach me, and I will hold my tongue,
and make me understand how I have erred.
25 How forceful are right words!
But what does your arguing prove?
26 Do you mean to correct my words,
and treat my desperate words as wind?
27 Yes, you cast lots for the fatherless,
and you bargain over your friend.
28 “And now, please give me your attention,
for surely I will not lie to you.
29 Turn, I pray, let there be no injustice!
Yes, turn again, my righteousness still stands!
30 Is there injustice on my tongue?
Cannot my taste discern pernicious things?
Job: My Suffering Is Endless
7 “Is there not a time of hard service for a man upon earth?
Are not his days also like the days of a hired worker?
2 Like a servant, he longs for the shade,
and like a hired worker, he looks for his wages,
3 so I have been assigned months of futility,
and nights of trouble have been appointed to me.
4 When I lie down, I say,
‘When will I arise and the night be ended?’
And I am full of restlessness until the dawn.
5 My flesh is covered with worms and caked with dirt;
my skin is broken, and has become loathsome.
6 “My days fly more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle,
and are spent without hope.
7 Oh, remember that my life is a breath!
My eye will never again see good.
8 The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;
your eyes will be on me, but I will be no more.
9 As the cloud disappears and vanishes away,
so he who goes down to Sheol will come up no more.
10 He will never return to his house,
and his place will not recognize him anymore.
11 “Therefore, I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or a sea monster,
that You set a guard over me?
13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
my couch will ease my complaint,’
14 then You scare me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
15 so that my soul chooses strangling,
even death rather than my life.
16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever;
let me alone, for my days are emptiness.
17 “What is man, that You should exalt him,
and that You should set Your heart on him,
18 and that You should visit him every morning,
and test him every moment?
19 How long until You look away from me?
Will You not let me alone until I swallow my saliva?
20 Have I sinned? What am I doing to You,
O You watcher of men?
Why have You set me as Your target,
so that I am a burden to myself?
21 And why do You not pardon my transgression
and take away my iniquity?
For now I will lie down in the dust;
and You will seek me diligently, but I will not be.”
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.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.