Chronological

17 “I am sick and near to death; the grave is ready to receive me. ² I am surrounded by mockers. I see them everywhere. ^3-4 Will no one anywhere confirm my innocence? But you, O God, have kept them back from understanding this. Oh, do not let them triumph. ⁵ If they accept bribes to denounce their friends, their children shall go blind.

⁶ “He has made me a mockery among the people; they spit in my face. ⁷ My eyes are dim with weeping and I am but a shadow of my former self. ⁸ Fair-minded men are astonished when they see me.

“Yet, finally, the innocent shall come out on top, above the godless; ⁹ the righteous shall move onward and forward; those with pure hearts shall become stronger and stronger.

¹⁰ “As for you—all of you please go away; for I do not find a wise man among you. ¹¹ My good days are in the past. My hopes have disappeared. My heart’s desires are broken. ¹² They say that night is day and day is night; how they pervert the truth!

^13-14 “If I die, I go out into darkness, and call the grave my father, and the worm my mother and my sister. ¹⁵ Where then is my hope? Can anyone find any? ¹⁶ No, my hope will go down with me to the grave. We shall rest together in the dust!”

18 The further reply of Bildad the Shuhite:

² “Who are you trying to fool? Speak some sense if you want us to answer! ³ Have we become like animals to you, stupid and dumb? ⁴ Just because you tear your clothes in anger, is this going to start an earthquake? Shall we all go and hide?

⁵ “The truth remains that if you do not prosper, it is because you are wicked. And your bright flame shall be put out. ⁶ There will be darkness in every home where there is wickedness.

⁷ “The confident stride of the wicked man will be shortened; he will realize his failing strength. ^8-9 He walks into traps, and robbers will ambush him. ¹⁰ There is a booby trap in every path he takes. ¹¹ He has good cause for fear—his enemy is close behind him!

¹² “His vigor is depleted by hunger; calamity stands ready to pounce upon him. ¹³ His skin is eaten by disease. Death shall devour him. ¹⁴ The wealth he trusted in shall reject him, and he shall be brought down to the king of terrors. ¹⁵ His home shall disappear beneath a fiery barrage of brimstone. ¹⁶ He shall die from the roots up, and all his branches will be lopped off.

¹⁷ “All memory of his existence will perish from the earth; no one will remember him. ¹⁸ He will be driven out from the kingdom of light into darkness and chased out of the world. ¹⁹ He will have neither son nor grandson left, nor any other relatives. ²⁰ Old and young alike will be horrified by his fate. ²¹ Yes, that is what happens to sinners, to those rejecting God.”

19 The reply of Job:

² “How long are you going to trouble me, and try to break me with your words? ³ Ten times now you have declared I am a sinner. Why aren’t you ashamed to deal with me so harshly? ⁴ And if indeed I was wrong, you have yet to prove it. ⁵ You think yourselves so great? Then prove my guilt!

⁶ “The fact of the matter is that God has overthrown me and caught me in his net. ⁷ I scream for help and no one hears me. I shriek, but get no justice. ⁸ God has blocked my path and turned my light to darkness. ⁹ He has stripped me of my glory and removed the crown from my head. ¹⁰ He has broken me down on every side, and I am done for. He has destroyed all hope. ¹¹ His fury burns against me; he counts me as an enemy. ¹² He sends his troops to surround my tent.

¹³ “He has sent away my brothers and my friends. ¹⁴ My relatives have failed me; my friends have all forsaken me. ¹⁵ Those living in my home, even my servants, regard me as a stranger. I am like a foreigner to them. ¹⁶ I call my servant, but he doesn’t come; I even beg him! ¹⁷ My own wife and brothers refuse to recognize me. ¹⁸ Even young children despise me. When I stand to speak, they mock.

¹⁹ “My best friends abhor me. Those I loved have turned against me. ²⁰ I am skin and bones and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.

²¹ “Oh, my friends, pity me, for the angry hand of God has touched me. ²² Why must you persecute me as God does? Why aren’t you satisfied with my anguish? ^23-24 Oh, that I could write my plea with an iron pen in the rock forever.

²⁵ “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last. ²⁶ And I know that after this body has decayed, this body shall see God!^{[a] 27} Then he will be on my side! Yes, I shall see him, not as a stranger, but as a friend! What a glorious hope!

²⁸ “How dare you go on persecuting me, as though I were proven guilty? ²⁹ I warn you, you yourselves are in danger of punishment for your attitude.”

20 The speech of Zophar the Naamathite:

² “I hasten to reply, for I have the answer for you. ³ You have tried to make me feel ashamed of myself for calling you a sinner, but my spirit won’t let me stop.

⁴ “Don’t you realize that ever since man was first placed upon the earth, ⁵ the triumph of the wicked has been short-lived, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? ⁶ Though the godless be proud as the heavens and walk with his nose in the air, ⁷ yet he shall perish forever, cast away like his own dung. Those who knew him will wonder where he has gone. ⁸ He will fade like a dream. ⁹ Neither his friends nor his family will ever see him again.

¹⁰ “His children shall beg from the poor, their hard labor shall repay his debts. ¹¹ Though still a young man, his bones shall lie in the dust.

¹² “He enjoyed the taste of his wickedness, letting it melt in his mouth, ¹³ sipping it slowly, lest it disappear.

¹⁴ “But suddenly the food he has eaten turns sour within him. ¹⁵ He will vomit the plunder he gorged. God won’t let him keep it down. ¹⁶ It is like poison and death to him. ¹⁷ He shall not enjoy the goods he stole; they will not be butter and honey to him after all. ¹⁸ His labors shall not be rewarded; wealth will give him no joy. ¹⁹ For he has oppressed the poor and foreclosed their homes; he will never recover. ²⁰ Though he was always greedy, now he has nothing; of all the things he dreamed of—none remain. ²¹ Because he stole at every opportunity, his prosperity shall not continue.

²² “He shall run into trouble at the peak of his powers; all the wicked shall destroy him. ²³ Just as he is about to fill his belly, God will rain down wrath upon him. ²⁴ He will be chased and struck down. ²⁵ The arrow is pulled from his body—and the glittering point comes out from his gall. The terrors of death are upon him.

²⁶ “His treasures will be lost in deepest darkness. A raging fire will devour his goods, consuming all he has left. ²⁷ The heavens will reveal his sins, and the earth will give testimony against him. ²⁸ His wealth will disappear beneath the wrath of God. ²⁹ This is what awaits the wicked man, for God prepares it for him.”