Chronological
6 Iyov responded:
2 “I wish my frustration could be weighed,
all my calamities laid on the scales!
3 They would outweigh the sands of the seas!
No wonder, then, that my words come out stammered!
4 For the arrows of Shaddai find their mark in me,
and my spirit is drinking in their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 “Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass?
Does an ox low when it has fodder?
6 Can food without flavor be eaten without salt?
Do egg whites have any taste?
7 I refuse to touch them;
such food makes me sick.
8 “If only I could have my wish granted,
and God would give me what I’m hoping for —
9 that God would decide to crush me,
that he would let his hand loose and cut me off!
10 Then I would feel consoled;
so that even in the face of unending pain,
I would be able to rejoice;
for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 “Have I enough strength to go on waiting?
What end can I expect, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones?
Is my flesh made of bronze?
13 Clearly, I have no help in myself;
common sense has been driven from me.
14 “A friend should be kind to an unhappy man,
even to one who abandons Shaddai.
15 But my brothers are as deceptive as vadis,
as vadi streams that soon run dry;
16 they may turn dark with ice
and be hidden by piled-up snow;
17 but as the weather warms up, they vanish;
when it’s hot, they disappear.
18 Their courses turn this way and that;
they go up into the confusing waste and are lost.
19 The caravans from Tema look for them,
the travelers from Sh’va hope to find them;
20 but they are disappointed, because they were confident;
on arrival there, they are frustrated.
21 “For now, you have become like that —
just seeing my calamity makes you afraid.
22 Did I say to you, ‘Give me something,’
or, ‘From your wealth, offer a bribe on my behalf,’
23 or, ‘Save me from the enemy’s grip,’
or, ‘Redeem me from the clutches of oppressors’?
24 “Teach me, and I will be silent.
Make me understand how I am at fault.
25 Honest words are forceful indeed,
but what do your arguments prove?
26 Do you think [your own] words constitute argument,
while the speech of a desperate man is merely wind?
27 I suppose you would even throw dice for an orphan
or barter away your friend!
28 “So now, I beg you, look at me!
Would I lie to your face?
29 Think it over, please; don’t let wrong be done.
Think it over again: my cause is just.
30 Am I saying something wrong?
Can’t I recognize trouble when I taste it?
7 “Human life on earth is like serving in the army;
yes, we drudge through our days like a hired worker,
2 like a slave longing for shade,
like a worker thinking only of his wages.
3 So I am assigned months of meaninglessness;
troubled nights are my lot.
4 When I lie down, I ask,
‘When can I get up?’
But the night is long, and I keep tossing
to and fro until daybreak.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt,
my skin forms scabs that ooze pus.
6 My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle
and come to their end without hope.
7 “Remember that my life is but a breath;
my eyes will never again see good times.
8 The eye that now sees me will see me no more;
while your eyes are on me, I will be gone.
9 Like a cloud dissolving and disappearing,
so he who descends to Sh’ol won’t come back up.
10 He will not return again to his house,
and his home will know him no more.
11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth
but will speak in my anguish of spirit
and complain in my bitterness of soul.
12 Am I the sea, or some sea monster,
that you put a guard over me?
13 When I think that my bed will comfort me,
that my couch will relieve my complaint,
14 then you terrify me with dreams
and frighten me with visions.
15 I would rather be strangled;
death would be better than these bones of mine.
16 I hate it! I won’t live forever,
so leave me alone, for my life means nothing.
17 “What are mere mortals, that you make so much of them?
Why do you keep them on your mind?
18 Why examine them every morning
and test them every moment?
19 Won’t you ever take your eyes off of me,
at least long enough for me to swallow my spit?
20 “Suppose I do sin — how do I harm you,
you scrutinizer of humanity?
Why have you made me your target,
so that I am a burden to you?
21 Why don’t you pardon my offense
and take away my guilt?
For soon I will lie down in the dust;
you will seek me, but I will be gone.”
8 Bildad the Shuchi spoke next:
2 “How long will you go on talking like this?
What you are saying is raging wind!
3 Does God distort judgment?
Does Shaddai pervert justice?
4 If your children sinned against him,
he left them to be victims of their own offense.
5 “If you will earnestly seek God
and plead for Shaddai’s favor,
6 if you are pure and upright;
then he will rouse himself for you
and fulfill your needs.
7 Then, although your beginnings were small,
your future will be very great indeed.
8 “Ask the older generation,
and consider what their ancestors found out;
9 for we who were born yesterday know nothing,
our days on earth are but a shadow.
10 They will teach you, they will tell you,
they will say what is in their hearts:
11 ‘Can papyrus grow except in a marsh?
Can swamp grass flourish without water?
12 While still green, before being cut down,
it dries up faster than any other plant.
13 Such are the paths of all who forget God;
the hope of a hypocrite will perish —
14 his confidence is mere gossamer,
his trust a spider’s web.
15 He can lean on his house, but it won’t stand;
he can hold on to it, but it won’t last;
16 [for its destruction will come] like the lush growth
of a plant in the sun,
its shoots may spread out all over its garden,
17 but meanwhile its roots cause the stone house
to collapse, as it seizes hold of the rocks;
18 someone who tears it away from its place
denies he has ever seen it.
19 Yes, this is the “joy” of the way [of the godless],
and out of the dust will spring up others [like him].’
20 “Look, God will not reject a blameless man;
nor will he uphold wrongdoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.”
9 Then Iyov responded:
2 “Indeed, I know that this is so;
but how can a human win a case against God?
3 Whoever might want to argue with him
could not answer him one [question] in a thousand.
4 His heart is so wise, his strength so great —
who can resist him and succeed?
5 “He moves the mountains, although they don’t know it,
when he overturns them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth from its place;
its supporting pillars tremble.
7 He commands the sun, and it fails to rise;
he shuts up the stars under his seal.
8 He alone spreads out the sky
and walks on the waves in the sea.
9 He made the Great Bear, Orion, the Pleiades
and the hidden constellations of the south.
10 He does great, unsearchable things,
wonders beyond counting.
11 He can go right by me, and I don’t see him;
he moves past without my being aware of him.
12 If he kills [people], who will ask why?
Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God will not withdraw his anger —
even Rahav’s supporters submit to him.
14 “How much less can I answer him
and select my arguments against him!
15 Even if I were right, I wouldn’t answer;
I could only ask for mercy from my judge.
16 If I summoned him, and he answered me,
I still can’t believe he would listen to my plea.
17 He could break me with a storm;
he could multiply my wounds for no reason,
18 to the point where I couldn’t even breathe —
with such bitterness he could fill me!
19 If it’s a matter of force, look how mighty he is;
if justice, who can summon him to court?
20 Even if I’m right, my own mouth will condemn me;
if I’m innocent, it would pronounce me guilty.
21 “I am innocent. Don’t I know myself?
But I’ve had enough of this life of mine!
22 So I say it’s all the same —
he destroys innocent and wicked alike.
23 When disaster brings sudden death,
he laughs at the plight of the innocent.
24 The earth has been given to the power of the wicked;
he covers the faces of its judges —
if it isn’t he, then who is it?
25 My days pass on more swiftly than a runner;
they flee without seeing anything good.
26 They skim by like skiffs built of reeds,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27 “If I say, ‘I’ll forget my complaining,
I’ll put off my sad face and be cheerful,’
28 then I’m still afraid of all my pain,
and I know you will not hold me innocent.
29 I will be condemned,
so why waste my efforts?
30 Even if I washed myself in melted snow
and cleansed my hands with lye,
31 you would plunge me into the muddy pit,
till my own clothes would detest me.
32 “For he is not merely human like me;
there is no answer that I could give him
if we were to come together in court.
33 There is no arbitrator between us
who could lay his hand on us both.
34 If he would remove his rod from me
and not let his terrors frighten me,
35 then I would speak without fear of him;
for when I’m alone, I’m not afraid.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.