Chronological
Who Can Prove Me a Liar?
24 “(A)Why are [a]times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not behold (B)His days?
2 [b]Some (C)move the boundaries;
They seize and [c]devour flocks.
3 They drive away the donkeys of the (D)orphans;
They take the (E)widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They push (F)the needy aside from the road;
The (G)afflicted of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.
5 Behold, as (H)wild donkeys in the wilderness
They (I)go forth seeking food earnestly in their work,
The desert becomes [d]for him a place of bread for his young ones.
6 They harvest their fodder in the field
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7 (J)They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.
8 They are wet with the mountain rains
And hug the rock for want of a shelter.
9 [e]Others snatch the (K)orphan from the breast,
And against the afflicted they take a pledge.
10 Those poor ones walk about naked without clothing,
And hungry ones carry the sheaves.
11 Within the walls they produce oil;
They tread wine presses but thirst.
12 From the city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God (L)does not pay attention to such offense.
13 “[f]Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to recognize its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 The murderer (M)arises at dawn;
He (N)kills the afflicted and the needy,
And at night he is as a thief.
15 The eye of the (O)adulterer keeps watch for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’
And he [g]keeps his face hidden.
16 In the dark they (P)dig into houses;
They (Q)shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to him as the shadow of death,
For he recognizes the (R)terrors of the shadow of death.
18 “[h]They are [i](S)insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their portion is (T)cursed on the earth.
They do not turn [j]toward the (U)vineyards.
19 Drought and heat (V)seize the snow waters,
So does (W)Sheol those who have sinned.
20 A [k](X)mother will forget him;
The (Y)worm feasts sweetly till he is (Z)no longer remembered.
And unrighteousness will be broken (AA)like a tree.
21 He feeds on the barren woman who does not give birth
And does no good for (AB)the widow.
22 But He drags off the mighty by (AC)His power;
He rises, but (AD)no one believes in his life.
23 He provides them (AE)with security, and they are supported;
And His (AF)eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted a (AG)little while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are (AH)brought low and like everything gathered up;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.
25 Now if it is not so, (AI)who can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”
Bildad Asks, Can Man Be Right with God?
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2 “(AJ)Rule and dread [l]belong to Him
Who makes peace in (AK)His heights.
3 Is there any number to (AL)His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?
4 How then can mortal man be (AM)right with God?
Or how can he be (AN)pure who is born of woman?
5 Behold even (AO)the moon has no brightness,
And the (AP)stars are not pure in His sight;
6 How much less (AQ)mortal man, that (AR)maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”
Who Can Understand God?
26 Then Job answered and said,
2 “What a help you are to (AS)the one without power!
How you have saved the arm (AT)without strength!
3 What counsel you have given to one without wisdom!
What sound wisdom you have abundantly made known!
4 To whom have you declared words?
And whose breath comes out from you?
5 “The [m](AU)departed spirits tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Naked is (AV)Sheol before Him,
And [n](AW)Abaddon has no covering.
7 He (AX)stretches out the north over what is formless
And hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He (AY)wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not break out under them.
9 He [o](AZ)obscures the face of His [p]throne
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 He has marked a (BA)circle on the surface of the waters
At the (BB)boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble
And are astonished at His rebuke.
12 He (BC)quieted the sea with His power,
And by His (BD)understanding He crushed (BE)Rahab.
13 By His breath the (BF)heavens are made beautiful;
His hand has pierced (BG)the fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how only with a whisper of (BH)a word do we hear of Him!
But His mighty (BI)thunder, who can understand?”
I Hold Fast My Righteousness
27 Then Job continued to lift up his [q](BJ)discourse and said,
2 “As God lives, (BK)who has removed my justice,
And the Almighty, (BL)who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as breath is in me,
And the (BM)spirit from God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unrighteousness,
Nor will (BN)my tongue utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I breathe my last (BO)I will not remove my integrity from me.
6 I (BP)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not reproach any of my days.
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked
And the one who rises against me as the unjust.
8 For what is (BQ)the hope of the godless [r]when he is cut off,
When God requires (BR)his [s]soul?
9 Will God (BS)hear his cry
When (BT)distress comes upon him?
10 Will he take (BU)delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will instruct you in the [t]power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you speak with utter vanity?
13 “This is (BV)the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which the (BW)ruthless receive from the Almighty.
14 Though his sons are many, [u]they are destined (BX)for the sword;
And his (BY)offspring will not be satisfied with bread.
15 His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And [v]their (BZ)widows will not be able to weep.
16 Though he piles up silver like dust
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, (CA)but the righteous will wear it,
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He has built his (CB)house like the [w]moth,
Or as a hut which the watchman has made.
19 He lies down rich, but never [x]again;
He opens his eyes, and (CC)it is no longer.
20 (CD)Terrors overtake him like many waters;
A tempest steals him away (CE)in the night.
21 The east (CF)wind carries him away, and he goes,
And it whirls him (CG)away from his place.
22 For it will hurl at him (CH)without sparing;
He will surely try to (CI)flee from its [y]power.
23 Men will clap their hands at him
And will (CJ)hiss him from his place.
Where Can Wisdom Be Found?
28 “[z]Surely there is a [aa]mine for silver,
And a place [ab]where they refine for gold.
2 Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And (CK)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in thick darkness and shadow of death.
4 He [ac]sinks a shaft far from [ad]habitation,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing to and fro far from men.
5 The earth, from it comes food,
And underneath it is overturned as fire.
6 Its rocks are the [ae]source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 The path no bird of prey knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 The [af]proud beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 He sends his hand forth to the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the [ag]base.
10 He breaks out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 He dams up the streams from [ah]flowing,
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.
12 “But (CL)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 (CM)Man does not know its worth,
And it is not found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 (CN)Pure gold cannot be given in place of it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx or sapphire.
17 (CO)Gold or glass cannot meet its worth,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of (CP)wisdom is above that of pearls.
19 The topaz of [ai]Ethiopia cannot meet its worth,
Nor can it be valued in (CQ)pure gold.
20 (CR)Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 [aj](CS)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
23 “(CT)God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He (CU)looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He set (CV)weight to the wind
And (CW)meted out the waters by measure,
26 When He set a (CX)limit for the rain
And a course for the (CY)thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and recounted it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 So He said to man, ‘Behold, the (CZ)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.