Job

Job

Job

Unknown

SETTING:

The land of Uz, seemingly during the time of Abraham

PURPOSE:

To demonstrate God’s sovereignty through examining the question, “Why do the righteous suffer?”

If you’ve ever felt attacked for no apparent reason, you’ll relate to the battle of good and evil in this book. Job, a humble and godly man, experienced undeserved suffering as he got caught in the age-old conflict between God and Satan. In his wrestling, Job found God to be fair and just even in suffering. His friends, on the other hand, learned the right (and wrong) way to counsel a hurting friend.

In the end, Job’s experience with extreme suffering led him into a deeper connection with God. At its heart, the book of Job addresses life’s most difficult dilemma: how to maintain a close bond with God as a suffering or disabled believer. This tension prompts us to examine the depth of our own relationship with the God of the universe.

SUFFERING AND DISABILITY THEMES

    Why suffering?  Job’s friends told him that his sufferings resulted from his sin. In contrast, Elihu stated eight applications to suffering which are unrelated to personal sin. Trials serve as a call to trust God when we do not understand what he is doing or why it is happening ().

    Satan is a liar.  Satan is behind a legalistic system that blames all suffering on sin. He delights in convincing people that suffering and disability are always related to human behavior. This idea is as insidious as the false doctrine claiming that God’s blessing or favor always results in prosperity. Contrary to Satan’s lies, the life of suffering is a life linked to the unseen purposes of God.

    Christ is our mediator.  As we agonize over our pain and suffering, we long for a mediator to plead our cause before God (). Job declared that he had an “advocate” () on high and a living “Redeemer” () who would finally vindicate him. In our struggles, it’s faith that can keep us moving forward to accomplish God’s purpose. Faith comes in knowing we have a mediator, Jesus Christ, who is an active provider of daily encouragement to match our need (; ).

Prologue

1There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. 2He had seven sons and three daughters. 3He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.

4Job’s sons would take turns preparing feasts in their homes, and they would also invite their three sisters to celebrate with them. 5When these celebrations ended—sometimes after several days—Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

Job’s First Test

One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. 7“Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan.

Satan answered the LORD, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”

8Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”

Satan replied to the LORD, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. 10You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! 11But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

12“All right, you may test him,” the LORD said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence.

13One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting at the oldest brother’s house, 14a messenger arrived at Job’s home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them, 15when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

16While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

17While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

18While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home. 19Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. 21He said,

   “I came naked from my mother’s womb,

       and I will be naked when I leave.

   The LORD gave me what I had,

       and the LORD has taken it away.

   Praise the name of the LORD!”

22In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Job’s Second Test

1One day the members of the heavenly court came again to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. 2“Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan.

Satan answered the LORD, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”

3Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.”

4Satan replied to the LORD, “Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life. 5But reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

6“All right, do with him as you please,” the LORD said to Satan. “But spare his life.” 7So Satan left the LORD’s presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot.

8Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. 9His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.”

10But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

Job’s Three Friends Share His Anguish

11When three of Job’s friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. 12When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. 13Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.

Job’s First Speech

1At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth. 2He said:

    3“Let the day of my birth be erased,

       and the night I was conceived.

    4Let that day be turned to darkness.

       Let it be lost even to God on high,

       and let no light shine on it.

    5Let the darkness and utter gloom claim that day for its own.

       Let a black cloud overshadow it,

       and let the darkness terrify it.

    6Let that night be blotted off the calendar,

       never again to be counted among the days of the year,

       never again to appear among the months.

    7Let that night be childless.

       Let it have no joy.

    8Let those who are experts at cursing—

       whose cursing could rouse Leviathan—

       curse that day.

    9Let its morning stars remain dark.

       Let it hope for light, but in vain;

       may it never see the morning light.

   10Curse that day for failing to shut my mother’s womb,

       for letting me be born to see all this trouble.

   11“Why wasn’t I born dead?

       Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?

   12Why was I laid on my mother’s lap?

       Why did she nurse me at her breasts?

   13Had I died at birth, I would now be at peace.

       I would be asleep and at rest.

   14I would rest with the world’s kings and prime ministers,

       whose great buildings now lie in ruins.

   15I would rest with princes, rich in gold,

       whose palaces were filled with silver.

   16Why wasn’t I buried like a stillborn child,

       like a baby who never lives to see the light?

   17For in death the wicked cause no trouble,

       and the weary are at rest.

   18Even captives are at ease in death,

       with no guards to curse them.

   19Rich and poor are both there,

       and the slave is free from his master.

   20“Oh, why give light to those in misery,

       and life to those who are bitter?

   21They long for death, and it won’t come.

       They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure.

   22They’re filled with joy when they finally die,

       and rejoice when they find the grave.

   23Why is life given to those with no future,

       those God has surrounded with difficulties?

   24I cannot eat for sighing;

       my groans pour out like water.

   What I always feared has happened to me.

       What I dreaded has come true.

   26I have no peace, no quietness.

       I have no rest; only trouble comes.”

Eliphaz’s First Response to Job

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied to Job:

    2“Will you be patient and let me say a word?

       For who could keep from speaking out?

    3“In the past you have encouraged many people;

       you have strengthened those who were weak.

    4Your words have supported those who were falling;

       you encouraged those with shaky knees.

    5But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart.

       You are terrified when it touches you.

    6Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence?

       Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?

   “Stop and think! Do the innocent die?

       When have the upright been destroyed?

    8My experience shows that those who plant trouble

       and cultivate evil will harvest the same.

    9A breath from God destroys them.

       They vanish in a blast of his anger.

   10The lion roars and the wildcat snarls,

       but the teeth of strong lions will be broken.

   11The fierce lion will starve for lack of prey,

       and the cubs of the lioness will be scattered.

   12“This truth was given to me in secret,

       as though whispered in my ear.

   13It came to me in a disturbing vision at night,

       when people are in a deep sleep.

   14Fear gripped me,

       and my bones trembled.

   15A spirit swept past my face,

       and my hair stood on end.

   16The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape.

       There was a form before my eyes.

   In the silence I heard a voice say,

   17‘Can a mortal be innocent before God?

       Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’

   18“If God does not trust his own angels

       and has charged his messengers with foolishness,

   19how much less will he trust people made of clay!

       They are made of dust, crushed as easily as a moth.

   20They are alive in the morning but dead by evening,

       gone forever without a trace.

   21Their tent-cords are pulled and the tent collapses,

       and they die in ignorance.

Eliphaz’s Response Continues

    1“Cry for help, but will anyone answer you?

       Which of the angels will help you?

    2Surely resentment destroys the fool,

       and jealousy kills the simple.

    3I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment,

       but then comes sudden disaster.

    4Their children are abandoned far from help;

       they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.

    5The hungry devour their harvest,

       even when it is guarded by brambles.

       The thirsty pant after their wealth.

    6But evil does not spring from the soil,

       and trouble does not sprout from the earth.

    7People are born for trouble

       as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.

    8“If I were you, I would go to God

       and present my case to him.

    9He does great things too marvelous to understand.

       He performs countless miracles.

   10He gives rain for the earth

       and water for the fields.

   11He gives prosperity to the poor

       and protects those who suffer.

   12He frustrates the plans of schemers

       so the work of their hands will not succeed.

   13He traps the wise in their own cleverness

       so their cunning schemes are thwarted.

   14They find it is dark in the daytime,

       and they grope at noon as if it were night.

   15He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong,

       and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful.

   16And so at last the poor have hope,

       and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.

   “But consider the joy of those corrected by God!

       Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.

   18For though he wounds, he also bandages.

       He strikes, but his hands also heal.

   19From six disasters he will rescue you;

       even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.

   20He will save you from death in time of famine,

       from the power of the sword in time of war.

   21You will be safe from slander

       and have no fear when destruction comes.

   22You will laugh at destruction and famine;

       wild animals will not terrify you.

   23You will be at peace with the stones of the field,

       and its wild animals will be at peace with you.

   24You will know that your home is safe.

       When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.

   25You will have many children;

       your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!

   26You will go to the grave at a ripe old age,

       like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!

   27“We have studied life and found all this to be true.

       Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.”

Job’s Second Speech: A Response to Eliphaz

1Then Job spoke again:

    2“If my misery could be weighed

       and my troubles be put on the scales,

    3they would outweigh all the sands of the sea.

       That is why I spoke impulsively.

    4For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows.

       Their poison infects my spirit.

       God’s terrors are lined up against me.

    5Don’t I have a right to complain?

       Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass,

       and oxen bellow when they have no food?

    6Don’t people complain about unsalted food?

       Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?

    7My appetite disappears when I look at it;

       I gag at the thought of eating it!

    8“Oh, that I might have my request,

       that God would grant my desire.

    9I wish he would crush me.

       I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.

   10At least I can take comfort in this:

       Despite the pain,

       I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

   11But I don’t have the strength to endure.

       I have nothing to live for.

   12Do I have the strength of a stone?

       Is my body made of bronze?

   13No, I am utterly helpless,

       without any chance of success.

   14“One should be kind to a fainting friend,

       but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.

   15My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook

       that overflows its banks in the spring

      16when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.

   17But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears.

       The brook vanishes in the heat.

   18The caravans turn aside to be refreshed,

       but there is nothing to drink, so they die.

   19The caravans from Tema search for this water;

       the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.

   20They count on it but are disappointed.

       When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.

   21You, too, have given no help.

       You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.

   22But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift?

       Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?

   23Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies,

       or to save me from ruthless people?

   24Teach me, and I will keep quiet.

       Show me what I have done wrong.

   25Honest words can be painful,

       but what do your criticisms amount to?

   26Do you think your words are convincing

       when you disregard my cry of desperation?

   27You would even send an orphan into slavery

       or sell a friend.

   28Look at me!

       Would I lie to your face?

   29Stop assuming my guilt,

       for I have done no wrong.

   30Do you think I am lying?

       Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong?

    1“Is not all human life a struggle?

       Our lives are like that of a hired hand,

    2like a worker who longs for the shade,

       like a servant waiting to be paid.

   I, too, have been assigned months of futility,

       long and weary nights of misery.

    4Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’

       But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.

    5My body is covered with maggots and scabs.

       My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.

Job Cries Out to God

    6“My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle.

       They end without hope.

    7O God, remember that my life is but a breath,

       and I will never again feel happiness.

    8You see me now, but not for long.

       You will look for me, but I will be gone.

    9Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes,

       those who die will not come back.

   10They are gone forever from their home—

       never to be seen again.

   11“I cannot keep from speaking.

       I must express my anguish.

       My bitter soul must complain.

   12Am I a sea monster or a dragon

       that you must place me under guard?

   13I think, ‘My bed will comfort me,

       and sleep will ease my misery,’

   14but then you shatter me with dreams

       and terrify me with visions.

   15I would rather be strangled—

       rather die than suffer like this.

   16I hate my life and don’t want to go on living.

       Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.

   “What are people, that you should make so much of us,

       that you should think of us so often?

   18For you examine us every morning

       and test us every moment.

   19Why won’t you leave me alone,

       at least long enough for me to swallow!

   20If I have sinned, what have I done to you,

       O watcher of all humanity?

   Why make me your target?

       Am I a burden to you?

   21Why not just forgive my sin

       and take away my guilt?

   For soon I will lie down in the dust and die.

       When you look for me, I will be gone.”

Bildad’s First Response to Job

1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job:

    2“How long will you go on like this?

       You sound like a blustering wind.

    3Does God twist justice?

       Does the Almighty twist what is right?

    4Your children must have sinned against him,

       so their punishment was well deserved.

    5But if you pray to God

       and seek the favor of the Almighty,

    6and if you are pure and live with integrity,

       he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.

    7And though you started with little,

       you will end with much.

    8“Just ask the previous generation.

       Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.

    9For we were born but yesterday and know nothing.

       Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.

   10But those who came before us will teach you.

       They will teach you the wisdom of old.

   11“Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh?

       Can marsh grass flourish without water?

   12While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut,

       they begin to wither more quickly than grass.

   13The same happens to all who forget God.

       The hopes of the godless evaporate.

   14Their confidence hangs by a thread.

       They are leaning on a spider’s web.

   15They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last.

       They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.

   16The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine,

       its branches spreading across the garden.

   17Its roots grow down through a pile of stones;

       it takes hold on a bed of rocks.

   18But when it is uprooted,

       it’s as though it never existed!

   19That’s the end of its life,

       and others spring up from the earth to replace it.

   20“But look, God will not reject a person of integrity,

       nor will he lend a hand to the wicked.

   21He will once again fill your mouth with laughter

       and your lips with shouts of joy.

   22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

       and the home of the wicked will be destroyed.”

Job’s Third Speech: A Response to Bildad

1Then Job spoke again:

    2“Yes, I know all this is true in principle.

       But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight?

    3If someone wanted to take God to court,

       would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?

    4For God is so wise and so mighty.

       Who has ever challenged him successfully?

    5“Without warning, he moves the mountains,

       overturning them in his anger.

    6He shakes the earth from its place,

       and its foundations tremble.

    7If he commands it, the sun won’t rise

       and the stars won’t shine.

    8He alone has spread out the heavens

       and marches on the waves of the sea.

    9He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion,

       the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.

   10He does great things too marvelous to understand.

       He performs countless miracles.

   11“Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him.

       When he moves by, I do not see him go.

   12If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him?

       Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’

   13And God does not restrain his anger.

       Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet.

   14“So who am I, that I should try to answer God

       or even reason with him?

   15Even if I were right, I would have no defense.

       I could only plead for mercy.

   16And even if I summoned him and he responded,

       I’m not sure he would listen to me.

   For he attacks me with a storm

       and repeatedly wounds me without cause.

   18He will not let me catch my breath,

       but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.

   19If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one.

       If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court?

   20Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty.

       Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.

   “I am innocent,

       but it makes no difference to me—

       I despise my life.

   22Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God.

       That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

   23When a plague sweeps through,

       he laughs at the death of the innocent.

   24The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked,

       and God blinds the eyes of the judges.

       If he’s not the one who does it, who is?

   25“My life passes more swiftly than a runner.

       It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.

   26It disappears like a swift papyrus boat,

       like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

   27If I decided to forget my complaints,

       to put away my sad face and be cheerful,

   28I would still dread all the pain,

       for I know you will not find me innocent, O God.

   29Whatever happens, I will be found guilty.

       So what’s the use of trying?

   30Even if I were to wash myself with soap

       and clean my hands with lye,

   31you would plunge me into a muddy ditch,

       and my own filthy clothing would hate me.

   32“God is not a mortal like me,

       so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.

   33If only there were a mediator between us,

       someone who could bring us together.

   34The mediator could make God stop beating me,

       and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.

   35Then I could speak to him without fear,

       but I cannot do that in my own strength.

Job Frames His Plea to God

    1“I am disgusted with my life.

       Let me complain freely.

       My bitter soul must complain.

    2I will say to God, ‘Don’t simply condemn me—

       tell me the charge you are bringing against me.

    3What do you gain by oppressing me?

       Why do you reject me, the work of your own hands,

       while smiling on the schemes of the wicked?

    4Are your eyes like those of a human?

       Do you see things only as people see them?

    5Is your lifetime only as long as ours?

       Is your life so short

    6that you must quickly probe for my guilt

       and search for my sin?

    7Although you know I am not guilty,

       no one can rescue me from your hands.

    8“‘You formed me with your hands; you made me,

       yet now you completely destroy me.

    9Remember that you made me from dust—

       will you turn me back to dust so soon?

   10You guided my conception

       and formed me in the womb.

   11You clothed me with skin and flesh,

       and you knit my bones and sinews together.

   You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love.

       My life was preserved by your care.

   13“‘Yet your real motive—

       your true intent—

   14was to watch me, and if I sinned,

       you would not forgive my guilt.

   15If I am guilty, too bad for me;

       and even if I’m innocent, I can’t hold my head high,

       because I am filled with shame and misery.

   16And if I hold my head high, you hunt me like a lion

       and display your awesome power against me.

   17Again and again you witness against me.

       You pour out your growing anger on me

       and bring fresh armies against me.

   18“‘Why, then, did you deliver me from my mother’s womb?

       Why didn’t you let me die at birth?

   19It would be as though I had never existed,

       going directly from the womb to the grave.

   20I have only a few days left, so leave me alone,

       that I may have a moment of comfort

   21before I leave—never to return—

       for the land of darkness and utter gloom.

   22It is a land as dark as midnight,

       a land of gloom and confusion,

       where even the light is dark as midnight.’”

Zophar’s First Response to Job

1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied to Job:

    2“Shouldn’t someone answer this torrent of words?

       Is a person proved innocent just by a lot of talking?

    3Should I remain silent while you babble on?

       When you mock God, shouldn’t someone make you ashamed?

    4You claim, ‘My beliefs are pure,’

       and ‘I am clean in the sight of God.’

    5If only God would speak;

       if only he would tell you what he thinks!

    6If only he would tell you the secrets of wisdom,

       for true wisdom is not a simple matter.

   Listen! God is doubtless punishing you

       far less than you deserve!

    7“Can you solve the mysteries of God?

       Can you discover everything about the Almighty?

    8Such knowledge is higher than the heavens—

       and who are you?

   It is deeper than the underworld—

       what do you know?

    9It is broader than the earth

       and wider than the sea.

   10If God comes and puts a person in prison

       or calls the court to order, who can stop him?

   11For he knows those who are false,

       and he takes note of all their sins.

   12An empty-headed person won’t become wise

       any more than a wild donkey can bear a human child.

   13“If only you would prepare your heart

       and lift up your hands to him in prayer!

   14Get rid of your sins,

       and leave all iniquity behind you.

   15Then your face will brighten with innocence.

       You will be strong and free of fear.

   16You will forget your misery;

       it will be like water flowing away.

   17Your life will be brighter than the noonday.

       Even darkness will be as bright as morning.

   18Having hope will give you courage.

       You will be protected and will rest in safety.

   19You will lie down unafraid,

       and many will look to you for help.

   20But the wicked will be blinded.

       They will have no escape.

       Their only hope is death.”

Job’s Fourth Speech: A Response to Zophar

1Then Job spoke again:

    2“You people really know everything, don’t you?

       And when you die, wisdom will die with you!

    3Well, I know a few things myself—

       and you’re no better than I am.

       Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying?

    4Yet my friends laugh at me,

       for I call on God and expect an answer.

   I am a just and blameless man,

       yet they laugh at me.

    5People who are at ease mock those in trouble.

       They give a push to people who are stumbling.

    6But robbers are left in peace,

       and those who provoke God live in safety—

       though God keeps them in his power.

    7“Just ask the animals, and they will teach you.

       Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

    8Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you.

       Let the fish in the sea speak to you.

    9For they all know

       that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD.

   10For the life of every living thing is in his hand,

       and the breath of every human being.

   11The ear tests the words it hears

       just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.

   12Wisdom belongs to the aged,

       and understanding to the old.

   13“But true wisdom and power are found in God;

       counsel and understanding are his.

   14What he destroys cannot be rebuilt.

       When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.

   15If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert.

       If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.

   16Yes, strength and wisdom are his;

       deceivers and deceived are both in his power.

   17He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment;

       wise judges become fools.

   18He removes the royal robe of kings.

       They are led away with ropes around their waist.

   19He leads priests away, stripped of status;

       he overthrows those with long years in power.

   20He silences the trusted adviser

       and removes the insight of the elders.

   21He pours disgrace upon princes

       and disarms the strong.

   22“He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness;

       he brings light to the deepest gloom.

   23He builds up nations, and he destroys them.

       He expands nations, and he abandons them.

   24He strips kings of understanding

       and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.

   25They grope in the darkness without a light.

       He makes them stagger like drunkards.

Job Wants to Argue His Case with God

    1“Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes

       and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand.

    2I know as much as you do.

       You are no better than I am.

    3As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty.

       I want to argue my case with God himself.

    4As for you, you smear me with lies.

       As physicians, you are worthless quacks.

    5If only you could be silent!

       That’s the wisest thing you could do.

    6Listen to my charge;

       pay attention to my arguments.

    7“Are you defending God with lies?

       Do you make your dishonest arguments for his sake?

    8Will you slant your testimony in his favor?

       Will you argue God’s case for him?

    9What will happen when he finds out what you are doing?

       Can you fool him as easily as you fool people?

   10No, you will be in trouble with him

       if you secretly slant your testimony in his favor.

   11Doesn’t his majesty terrify you?

       Doesn’t your fear of him overwhelm you?

   12Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes.

       Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.

   13“Be silent now and leave me alone.

       Let me speak, and I will face the consequences.

   14Why should I put myself in mortal danger

       and take my life in my own hands?

   15God might kill me, but I have no other hope.

       I am going to argue my case with him.

   16But this is what will save me—I am not godless.

       If I were, I could not stand before him.

   17“Listen closely to what I am about to say.

       Hear me out.

   18I have prepared my case;

       I will be proved innocent.

   19Who can argue with me over this?

       And if you prove me wrong, I will remain silent and die.

Job Asks How He Has Sinned

   20“O God, grant me these two things,

       and then I will be able to face you.

   21Remove your heavy hand from me,

       and don’t terrify me with your awesome presence.

   22Now summon me, and I will answer!

       Or let me speak to you, and you reply.

   23Tell me, what have I done wrong?

       Show me my rebellion and my sin.

   24Why do you turn away from me?

       Why do you treat me as your enemy?

   25Would you terrify a leaf blown by the wind?

       Would you chase dry straw?

   26“You write bitter accusations against me

       and bring up all the sins of my youth.

   27You put my feet in stocks.

       You examine all my paths.

       You trace all my footprints.

   28I waste away like rotting wood,

       like a moth-eaten coat.

    1“How frail is humanity!

       How short is life, how full of trouble!

    2We blossom like a flower and then wither.

       Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.

    3Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature

       and demand an accounting from me?

    4Who can bring purity out of an impure person?

       No one!

    5You have decided the length of our lives.

       You know how many months we will live,

       and we are not given a minute longer.

    6So leave us alone and let us rest!

       We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.

   “Even a tree has more hope!

       If it is cut down, it will sprout again

       and grow new branches.

    8Though its roots have grown old in the earth

       and its stump decays,

    9at the scent of water it will bud

       and sprout again like a new seedling.

   10“But when people die, their strength is gone.

       They breathe their last, and then where are they?

   11As water evaporates from a lake

       and a river disappears in drought,

   12people are laid to rest and do not rise again.

       Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up

       nor be roused from their sleep.

   13“I wish you would hide me in the grave

       and forget me there until your anger has passed.

       But mark your calendar to think of me again!

   14Can the dead live again?

       If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle,

       and I would eagerly await the release of death.

   15You would call and I would answer,

       and you would yearn for me, your handiwork.

   16For then you would guard my steps,

       instead of watching for my sins.

   17My sins would be sealed in a pouch,

       and you would cover my guilt.

   18“But instead, as mountains fall and crumble

       and as rocks fall from a cliff,

   19as water wears away the stones

       and floods wash away the soil,

       so you destroy people’s hope.

   20You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene.

       You disfigure them in death and send them away.

   21They never know if their children grow up in honor

       or sink to insignificance.

   22They suffer painfully;

       their life is full of trouble.”

Eliphaz’s Second Response to Job

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

    2“A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk!

       You are nothing but a windbag.

    3The wise don’t engage in empty chatter.

       What good are such words?

    4Have you no fear of God,

       no reverence for him?

    5Your sins are telling your mouth what to say.

       Your words are based on clever deception.

    6Your own mouth condemns you, not I.

       Your own lips testify against you.

    7“Were you the first person ever born?

       Were you born before the hills were made?

    8Were you listening at God’s secret council?

       Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?

    9What do you know that we don’t?

       What do you understand that we do not?

   10On our side are aged, gray-haired men

       much older than your father!

   “Is God’s comfort too little for you?

       Is his gentle word not enough?

   12What has taken away your reason?

       What has weakened your vision,

   13that you turn against God

       and say all these evil things?

   14Can any mortal be pure?

       Can anyone born of a woman be just?

   15Look, God does not even trust the angels.

       Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.

   16How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person

       with a thirst for wickedness!

   17“If you will listen, I will show you.

       I will answer you from my own experience.

   18And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men

       who have heard the same thing from their fathers—

   19from those to whom the land was given

       long before any foreigners arrived.

   20“The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives.

       Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.

   21The sound of terror rings in their ears,

       and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.

   22They dare not go out into the darkness

       for fear they will be murdered.

   23They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’

       They know their day of destruction is near.

   24That dark day terrifies them.

       They live in distress and anguish,

       like a king preparing for battle.

   25For they shake their fists at God,

       defying the Almighty.

   26Holding their strong shields,

       they defiantly charge against him.

   27“These wicked people are heavy and prosperous;

       their waists bulge with fat.

   28But their cities will be ruined.

       They will live in abandoned houses

       that are ready to tumble down.

   29Their riches will not last,

       and their wealth will not endure.

       Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.

   30“They will not escape the darkness.

       The burning sun will wither their shoots,

       and the breath of God will destroy them.

   31Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches,

       for emptiness will be their only reward.

   32They will be cut down in the prime of life;

       their branches will never again be green.

   33They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early,

       like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.

   34For the godless are barren.

       Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.

   35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

       Their womb produces deceit.”

Job’s Fifth Speech: A Response to Eliphaz

1Then Job spoke again:

   “I have heard all this before.

       What miserable comforters you are!

    3Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air?

       What makes you keep on talking?

    4I could say the same things if you were in my place.

       I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.

    5But if it were me, I would encourage you.

       I would try to take away your grief.

    6Instead, I suffer if I defend myself,

       and I suffer no less if I refuse to speak.

    7“O God, you have ground me down

       and devastated my family.

    8As if to prove I have sinned, you’ve reduced me to skin and bones.

       My gaunt flesh testifies against me.

    9God hates me and angrily tears me apart.

       He snaps his teeth at me

       and pierces me with his eyes.

   10People jeer and laugh at me.

       They slap my cheek in contempt.

       A mob gathers against me.

   11God has handed me over to sinners.

       He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked.

   12“I was living quietly until he shattered me.

       He took me by the neck and broke me in pieces.

   Then he set me up as his target,

      13and now his archers surround me.

   His arrows pierce me without mercy.

       The ground is wet with my blood.

   14Again and again he smashes against me,

       charging at me like a warrior.

   15I wear burlap to show my grief.

       My pride lies in the dust.

   16My eyes are red with weeping;

       dark shadows circle my eyes.

   17Yet I have done no wrong,

       and my prayer is pure.

   18“O earth, do not conceal my blood.

       Let it cry out on my behalf.

   19Even now my witness is in heaven.

       My advocate is there on high.

   20My friends scorn me,

       but I pour out my tears to God.

   21I need someone to mediate between God and me,

       as a person mediates between friends.

   22For soon I must go down that road

       from which I will never return.

Job Continues to Defend His Innocence

    1“My spirit is crushed,

       and my life is nearly snuffed out.

       The grave is ready to receive me.

    2I am surrounded by mockers.

       I watch how bitterly they taunt me.

    3“You must defend my innocence, O God,

       since no one else will stand up for me.

    4You have closed their minds to understanding,

       but do not let them triumph.

    5They betray their friends for their own advantage,

       so let their children faint with hunger.

    6“God has made a mockery of me among the people;

       they spit in my face.

    7My eyes are swollen with weeping,

       and I am but a shadow of my former self.

    8The virtuous are horrified when they see me.

       The innocent rise up against the ungodly.

    9The righteous keep moving forward,

       and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.

   10“As for all of you, come back with a better argument,

       though I still won’t find a wise man among you.

   11My days are over.

       My hopes have disappeared.

       My heart’s desires are broken.

   12These men say that night is day;

       they claim that the darkness is light.

   13What if I go to the grave

       and make my bed in darkness?

   14What if I call the grave my father,

       and the maggot my mother or my sister?

   15Where then is my hope?

       Can anyone find it?

   16No, my hope will go down with me to the grave.

       We will rest together in the dust!”

Bildad’s Second Response to Job

1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

    2“How long before you stop talking?

       Speak sense if you want us to answer!

    3Do you think we are mere animals?

       Do you think we are stupid?

    4You may tear out your hair in anger,

       but will that destroy the earth?

       Will it make the rocks tremble?

    5“Surely the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

       The sparks of their fire will not glow.

    6The light in their tent will grow dark.

       The lamp hanging above them will be quenched.

    7The confident stride of the wicked will be shortened.

       Their own schemes will be their downfall.

    8The wicked walk into a net.

       They fall into a pit.

    9A trap grabs them by the heel.

       A snare holds them tight.

   10A noose lies hidden on the ground.

       A rope is stretched across their path.

   11“Terrors surround the wicked

       and trouble them at every step.

   12Hunger depletes their strength,

       and calamity waits for them to stumble.

   13Disease eats their skin;

       death devours their limbs.

   14They are torn from the security of their homes

       and are brought down to the king of terrors.

   15The homes of the wicked will burn down;

       burning sulfur rains on their houses.

   16Their roots will dry up,

       and their branches will wither.

   17All memory of their existence will fade from the earth;

       no one will remember their names.

   18They will be thrust from light into darkness,

       driven from the world.

   19They will have neither children nor grandchildren,

       nor any survivor in the place where they lived.

   20People in the west are appalled at their fate;

       people in the east are horrified.

   21They will say, ‘This was the home of a wicked person,

       the place of one who rejected God.’”

Job’s Sixth Speech: A Response to Bildad

1Then Job spoke again:

    2“How long will you torture me?

       How long will you try to crush me with your words?

    3You have already insulted me ten times.

       You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.

    4Even if I have sinned,

       that is my concern, not yours.

    5You think you’re better than I am,

       using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.

    6But it is God who has wronged me,

       capturing me in his net.

    7“I cry out, ‘Help!’ but no one answers me.

       I protest, but there is no justice.

    8God has blocked my way so I cannot move.

       He has plunged my path into darkness.

    9He has stripped me of my honor

       and removed the crown from my head.

   10He has demolished me on every side, and I am finished.

       He has uprooted my hope like a fallen tree.

   11His fury burns against me;

       he counts me as an enemy.

   12His troops advance.

       They build up roads to attack me.

       They camp all around my tent.

   13“My relatives stay far away,

       and my friends have turned against me.

   14My family is gone,

       and my close friends have forgotten me.

   15My servants and maids consider me a stranger.

       I am like a foreigner to them.

   16When I call my servant, he doesn’t come;

       I have to plead with him!

   17My breath is repulsive to my wife.

       I am rejected by my own family.

   18Even young children despise me.

       When I stand to speak, they turn their backs on me.

   19My close friends detest me.

       Those I loved have turned against me.

   20I have been reduced to skin and bones

       and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.

   21“Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,

       for the hand of God has struck me.

   22Must you also persecute me, like God does?

       Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

   23“Oh, that my words could be recorded.

       Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,

   24carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,

       engraved forever in the rock.

   “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,

       and he will stand upon the earth at last.

   26And after my body has decayed,

       yet in my body I will see God!

   27I will see him for myself.

       Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.

       I am overwhelmed at the thought!

   28“How dare you go on persecuting me,

       saying, ‘It’s his own fault’?

   29You should fear punishment yourselves,

       for your attitude deserves punishment.

       Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”

Zophar’s Second Response to Job

1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

    2“I must reply

       because I am greatly disturbed.

    3I’ve had to endure your insults,

       but now my spirit prompts me to reply.

    4“Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time,

       ever since people were first placed on the earth,

    5the triumph of the wicked has been short lived

       and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?

    6Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens

       and their heads touch the clouds,

    7yet they will vanish forever,

       thrown away like their own dung.

   Those who knew them will ask,

       ‘Where are they?’

    8They will fade like a dream and not be found.

       They will vanish like a vision in the night.

    9Those who once saw them will see them no more.

       Their families will never see them again.

   10Their children will beg from the poor,

       for they must give back their stolen riches.

   11Though they are young,

       their bones will lie in the dust.

   12“They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness,

       letting it melt under their tongue.

   13They savored it,

       holding it long in their mouths.

   14But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour,

       a poisonous venom in their stomach.

   15They will vomit the wealth they swallowed.

       God won’t let them keep it down.

   16They will suck the poison of cobras.

       The viper will kill them.

   17They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil

       or rivers of milk and honey.

   18They will give back everything they worked for.

       Their wealth will bring them no joy.

   19For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute.

       They foreclosed on their homes.

   20They were always greedy and never satisfied.

       Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.

   21Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves.

       Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.

   22“In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble

       and be overcome by misery.

   23May God give them a bellyful of trouble.

       May God rain down his anger upon them.

   24When they try to escape an iron weapon,

       a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.

   25The arrow is pulled from their back,

       and the arrowhead glistens with blood.

   The terrors of death are upon them.

      26Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness.

   A wildfire will devour their goods,

       consuming all they have left.

   27The heavens will reveal their guilt,

       and the earth will testify against them.

   28A flood will sweep away their house.

       God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.

   29This is the reward that God gives the wicked.

       It is the inheritance decreed by God.”

Job’s Seventh Speech: A Response to Zophar

1Then Job spoke again:

    2“Listen closely to what I am saying.

       That’s one consolation you can give me.

    3Bear with me, and let me speak.

       After I have spoken, you may resume mocking me.

    4“My complaint is with God, not with people.

       I have good reason to be so impatient.

    5Look at me and be stunned.

       Put your hand over your mouth in shock.

    6When I think about what I am saying, I shudder.

       My body trembles.

   “Why do the wicked prosper,

       growing old and powerful?

    8They live to see their children grow up and settle down,

       and they enjoy their grandchildren.

    9Their homes are safe from every fear,

       and God does not punish them.

   10Their bulls never fail to breed.

       Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.

   11They let their children frisk about like lambs.

       Their little ones skip and dance.

   12They sing with tambourine and harp.

       They celebrate to the sound of the flute.

   13They spend their days in prosperity,

       then go down to the grave in peace.

   14And yet they say to God, ‘Go away.

       We want no part of you and your ways.

   15Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him?

       What good will it do us to pray?’

   16(They think their prosperity is of their own doing,

       but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.)

   17“Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished.

       Do they ever have trouble?

       Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?

   18Are they driven before the wind like straw?

       Are they carried away by the storm like chaff?

       Not at all!

   19“‘Well,’ you say, ‘at least God will punish their children!’

       But I say he should punish the ones who sin,

       so that they understand his judgment.

   20Let them see their destruction with their own eyes.

       Let them drink deeply of the anger of the Almighty.

   21For they will not care what happens to their family

       after they are dead.

   22“But who can teach a lesson to God,

       since he judges even the most powerful?

   23One person dies in prosperity,

       completely comfortable and secure,

   24the picture of good health,

       vigorous and fit.

   25Another person dies in bitter poverty,

       never having tasted the good life.

   26But both are buried in the same dust,

       both eaten by the same maggots.

   27“Look, I know what you’re thinking.

       I know the schemes you plot against me.

   28You will tell me of rich and wicked people

       whose houses have vanished because of their sins.

   29But ask those who have been around,

       and they will tell you the truth.

   30Evil people are spared in times of calamity

       and are allowed to escape disaster.

   31No one criticizes them openly

       or pays them back for what they have done.

   32When they are carried to the grave,

       an honor guard keeps watch at their tomb.

   33A great funeral procession goes to the cemetery.

       Many pay their respects as the body is laid to rest,

       and the earth gives sweet repose.

   34“How can your empty clichés comfort me?

       All your explanations are lies!”

Eliphaz’s Third Response to Job

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

    2“Can a person do anything to help God?

       Can even a wise person be helpful to him?

    3Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous?

       Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?

    4Is it because you’re so pious that he accuses you

       and brings judgment against you?

    5No, it’s because of your wickedness!

       There’s no limit to your sins.

    6“For example, you must have lent money to your friend

       and demanded clothing as security.

       Yes, you stripped him to the bone.

    7You must have refused water for the thirsty

       and food for the hungry.

    8You probably think the land belongs to the powerful

       and only the privileged have a right to it!

    9You must have sent widows away empty-handed

       and crushed the hopes of orphans.

   10That is why you are surrounded by traps

       and tremble from sudden fears.

   11That is why you cannot see in the darkness,

       and waves of water cover you.

   12“God is so great—higher than the heavens,

       higher than the farthest stars.

   13But you reply, ‘That’s why God can’t see what I am doing!

       How can he judge through the thick darkness?

   14For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us.

       He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’

   15“Will you continue on the old paths

       where evil people have walked?

   16They were snatched away in the prime of life,

       the foundations of their lives washed away.

   17For they said to God, ‘Leave us alone!

       What can the Almighty do to us?’

   18Yet he was the one who filled their homes with good things,

       so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.

   19“The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed,

       and the innocent will laugh in contempt.

   20They will say, ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed.

       The last of them have been consumed in the fire.’

   21“Submit to God, and you will have peace;

       then things will go well for you.

   22Listen to his instructions,

       and store them in your heart.

   23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored—

       so clean up your life.

   24If you give up your lust for money

       and throw your precious gold into the river,

   25the Almighty himself will be your treasure.

       He will be your precious silver!

   26“Then you will take delight in the Almighty

       and look up to God.

   27You will pray to him, and he will hear you,

       and you will fulfill your vows to him.

   28You will succeed in whatever you choose to do,

       and light will shine on the road ahead of you.

   29If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’

       God will save them.

   30Even sinners will be rescued;

       they will be rescued because your hands are pure.”

Job’s Eighth Speech: A Response to Eliphaz

Then Job spoke again:

    2“My complaint today is still a bitter one,

       and I try hard not to groan aloud.

   If only I knew where to find God,

       I would go to his court.

    4I would lay out my case

       and present my arguments.

    5Then I would listen to his reply

       and understand what he says to me.

    6Would he use his great power to argue with me?

       No, he would give me a fair hearing.

    7Honest people can reason with him,

       so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.

    8I go east, but he is not there.

       I go west, but I cannot find him.

    9I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.

       I look to the south, but he is concealed.

   10“But he knows where I am going.

       And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.

   11For I have stayed on God’s paths;

       I have followed his ways and not turned aside.

   12I have not departed from his commands,

       but have treasured his words more than daily food.

   13But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind?

       Whatever he wants to do, he does.

   14So he will do to me whatever he has planned.

       He controls my destiny.

   15No wonder I am so terrified in his presence.

       When I think of it, terror grips me.

   16God has made me sick at heart;

       the Almighty has terrified me.

   17Darkness is all around me;

       thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.

Job Asks Why the Wicked Are Not Punished

    1“Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment?

       Why must the godly wait for him in vain?

    2Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers.

       They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.

    3They take the orphan’s donkey

       and demand the widow’s ox as security for a loan.

    4The poor are pushed off the path;

       the needy must hide together for safety.

    5Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,

       the poor must spend all their time looking for food,

       searching even in the desert for food for their children.

    6They harvest a field they do not own,

       and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.

    7All night they lie naked in the cold,

       without clothing or covering.

    8They are soaked by mountain showers,

       and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.

    9“The wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast,

       taking the baby as security for a loan.

   10The poor must go about naked, without any clothing.

       They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.

   11They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it,

       and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.

   12The groans of the dying rise from the city,

       and the wounded cry for help,

       yet God ignores their moaning.

   13“Wicked people rebel against the light.

       They refuse to acknowledge its ways

       or stay in its paths.

   14The murderer rises in the early dawn

       to kill the poor and needy;

       at night he is a thief.

   15The adulterer waits for the twilight,

       saying, ‘No one will see me then.’

       He hides his face so no one will know him.

   16Thieves break into houses at night

       and sleep in the daytime.

       They are not acquainted with the light.

   17The black night is their morning.

       They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness.

   18“But they disappear like foam down a river.

       Everything they own is cursed,

       and they are afraid to enter their own vineyards.

   19The grave consumes sinners

       just as drought and heat consume snow.

   20Their own mothers will forget them.

       Maggots will find them sweet to eat.

   No one will remember them.

       Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm.

   21They cheat the woman who has no son to help her.

       They refuse to help the needy widow.

   22“God, in his power, drags away the rich.

       They may rise high, but they have no assurance of life.

   23They may be allowed to live in security,

       but God is always watching them.

   24And though they are great now,

       in a moment they will be gone like all others,

       cut off like heads of grain.

   25Can anyone claim otherwise?

       Who can prove me wrong?”

Bildad’s Third Response to Job

1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

    2“God is powerful and dreadful.

       He enforces peace in the heavens.

    3Who is able to count his heavenly army?

       Doesn’t his light shine on all the earth?

    4How can a mortal be innocent before God?

       Can anyone born of a woman be pure?

   God is more glorious than the moon;

       he shines brighter than the stars.

    6In comparison, people are maggots;

       we mortals are mere worms.”

Job’s Ninth Speech: A Response to Bildad

1Then Job spoke again:

    2“How you have helped the powerless!

       How you have saved the weak!

    3How you have enlightened my stupidity!

       What wise advice you have offered!

    4Where have you gotten all these wise sayings?

       Whose spirit speaks through you?

    5“The dead tremble—

       those who live beneath the waters.

    6The underworld is naked in God’s presence.

       The place of destruction is uncovered.

    7God stretches the northern sky over empty space

       and hangs the earth on nothing.

    8He wraps the rain in his thick clouds,

       and the clouds don’t burst with the weight.

    9He covers the face of the moon,

       shrouding it with his clouds.

   10He created the horizon when he separated the waters;

       he set the boundary between day and night.

   11The foundations of heaven tremble;

       they shudder at his rebuke.

   12By his power the sea grew calm.

       By his skill he crushed the great sea monster.

   13His Spirit made the heavens beautiful,

       and his power pierced the gliding serpent.

   14These are just the beginning of all that he does,

       merely a whisper of his power.

       Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?”

Job’s Final Speech

1Job continued speaking:

    2“I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights,

       by the Almighty who has embittered my soul—

    3As long as I live,

       while I have breath from God,

    4my lips will speak no evil,

       and my tongue will speak no lies.

    5I will never concede that you are right;

       I will defend my integrity until I die.

    6I will maintain my innocence without wavering.

       My conscience is clear for as long as I live.

    7“May my enemy be punished like the wicked,

       my adversary like those who do evil.

    8For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off

       and takes away their life?

    9Will God listen to their cry

       when trouble comes upon them?

   10Can they take delight in the Almighty?

       Can they call to God at any time?

   11I will teach you about God’s power.

       I will not conceal anything concerning the Almighty.

   12But you have seen all this,

       yet you say all these useless things to me.

   13“This is what the wicked will receive from God;

       this is their inheritance from the Almighty.

   14They may have many children,

       but the children will die in war or starve to death.

   15Those who survive will die of a plague,

       and not even their widows will mourn them.

   16“Evil people may have piles of money

       and may store away mounds of clothing.

   17But the righteous will wear that clothing,

       and the innocent will divide that money.

   18The wicked build houses as fragile as a spider’s web,

       as flimsy as a shelter made of branches.

   19The wicked go to bed rich

       but wake to find that all their wealth is gone.

   20Terror overwhelms them like a flood,

       and they are blown away in the storms of the night.

   21The east wind carries them away, and they are gone.

       It sweeps them away.

   22It whirls down on them without mercy.

       They struggle to flee from its power.

   23But everyone jeers at them

       and mocks them.

Job Speaks of Wisdom and Understanding

    1“People know where to mine silver

       and how to refine gold.

    2They know where to dig iron from the earth

       and how to smelt copper from rock.

    3They know how to shine light in the darkness

       and explore the farthest regions of the earth

       as they search in the dark for ore.

    4They sink a mine shaft into the earth

       far from where anyone lives.

       They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth.

    5Food is grown on the earth above,

       but down below, the earth is melted as by fire.

    6Here the rocks contain precious lapis lazuli,

       and the dust contains gold.

    7These are treasures no bird of prey can see,

       no falcon’s eye observe.

    8No wild animal has walked upon these treasures;

       no lion has ever set his paw there.

    9People know how to tear apart flinty rocks

       and overturn the roots of mountains.

   10They cut tunnels in the rocks

       and uncover precious stones.

   11They dam up the trickling streams

       and bring to light the hidden treasures.

   12“But do people know where to find wisdom?

       Where can they find understanding?

   13No one knows where to find it,

       for it is not found among the living.

   14‘It is not here,’ says the ocean.

       ‘Nor is it here,’ says the sea.

   15It cannot be bought with gold.

       It cannot be purchased with silver.

   16It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir,

       greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli.

   17Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal.

       It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.

   18Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it.

       The price of wisdom is far above rubies.

   19Precious peridot from Ethiopia cannot be exchanged for it.

       It’s worth more than the purest gold.

   20“But do people know where to find wisdom?

       Where can they find understanding?

   21It is hidden from the eyes of all humanity.

       Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it.

   22Destruction and Death say,

       ‘We’ve heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.’

   23“God alone understands the way to wisdom;

       he knows where it can be found,

   24for he looks throughout the whole earth

       and sees everything under the heavens.

   25He decided how hard the winds should blow

       and how much rain should fall.

   26He made the laws for the rain

       and laid out a path for the lightning.

   27Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it.

       He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.

   28And this is what he says to all humanity:

   ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;

       to forsake evil is real understanding.’”

Job Speaks of His Former Blessings

1Job continued speaking:

    2“I long for the years gone by

       when God took care of me,

    3when he lit up the way before me

       and I walked safely through the darkness.

    4When I was in my prime,

       God’s friendship was felt in my home.

    5The Almighty was still with me,

       and my children were around me.

    6My steps were awash in cream,

       and the rocks gushed olive oil for me.

    7“Those were the days when I went to the city gate

       and took my place among the honored leaders.

    8The young stepped aside when they saw me,

       and even the aged rose in respect at my coming.

    9The princes stood in silence

       and put their hands over their mouths.

   10The highest officials of the city stood quietly,

       holding their tongues in respect.

   11“All who heard me praised me.

       All who saw me spoke well of me.

   For I assisted the poor in their need

       and the orphans who required help.

   13I helped those without hope, and they blessed me.

       And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy.

   14Everything I did was honest.

       Righteousness covered me like a robe,

       and I wore justice like a turban.

   15I served as eyes for the blind

       and feet for the lame.

   16I was a father to the poor

       and assisted strangers who needed help.

   17I broke the jaws of godless oppressors

       and plucked their victims from their teeth.

   18“I thought, ‘Surely I will die surrounded by my family

       after a long, good life.

   19For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water,

       whose branches are refreshed with the dew.

   20New honors are constantly bestowed on me,

       and my strength is continually renewed.’

   21“Everyone listened to my advice.

       They were silent as they waited for me to speak.

   22And after I spoke, they had nothing to add,

       for my counsel satisfied them.

   23They longed for me to speak as people long for rain.

       They drank my words like a refreshing spring rain.

   24When they were discouraged, I smiled at them.

       My look of approval was precious to them.

   25Like a chief, I told them what to do.

       I lived like a king among his troops

       and comforted those who mourned.

Job Speaks of His Anguish

    1“But now I am mocked by people younger than I,

       by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.

    2A lot of good they are to me—

       those worn-out wretches!

    3They are gaunt from poverty and hunger.

       They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands.

    4They pluck wild greens from among the bushes

       and eat from the roots of broom trees.

    5They are driven from human society,

       and people shout at them as if they were thieves.

    6So now they live in frightening ravines,

       in caves and among the rocks.

    7They sound like animals howling among the bushes,

       huddled together beneath the nettles.

    8They are nameless fools,

       outcasts from society.

    9“And now they mock me with vulgar songs!

       They taunt me!

   10They despise me and won’t come near me,

       except to spit in my face.

   11For God has cut my bowstring.

       He has humbled me,

       so they have thrown off all restraint.

   12These outcasts oppose me to my face.

       They send me sprawling

       and lay traps in my path.

   13They block my road

       and do everything they can to destroy me.

   They know I have no one to help me.

      14They come at me from all directions.

   They jump on me when I am down.

      15I live in terror now.

   My honor has blown away in the wind,

       and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.

   16“And now my life seeps away.

       Depression haunts my days.

   17At night my bones are filled with pain,

       which gnaws at me relentlessly.

   18With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt.

       He grips me by the collar of my coat.

   19He has thrown me into the mud.

       I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.

   “I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer.

       I stand before you, but you don’t even look.

   21You have become cruel toward me.

       You use your power to persecute me.

   22You throw me into the whirlwind

       and destroy me in the storm.

   23And I know you are sending me to my death—

       the destination of all who live.

   24“Surely no one would turn against the needy

       when they cry for help in their trouble.

   25Did I not weep for those in trouble?

       Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?

   26So I looked for good, but evil came instead.

       I waited for the light, but darkness fell.

   27My heart is troubled and restless.

       Days of suffering torment me.

   28I walk in gloom, without sunlight.

       I stand in the public square and cry for help.

   29Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals

       and a companion to owls.

   30My skin has turned dark,

       and my bones burn with fever.

   31My harp plays sad music,

       and my flute accompanies those who weep.

Job’s Final Protest of Innocence

    1“I made a covenant with my eyes

       not to look with lust at a young woman.

    2For what has God above chosen for us?

       What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?

    3Isn’t it calamity for the wicked

       and misfortune for those who do evil?

    4Doesn’t he see everything I do

       and every step I take?

    5“Have I lied to anyone

       or deceived anyone?

    6Let God weigh me on the scales of justice,

       for he knows my integrity.

    7If I have strayed from his pathway,

       or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen,

       or if I am guilty of any other sin,

    8then let someone else eat the crops I have planted.

       Let all that I have planted be uprooted.

    9“If my heart has been seduced by a woman,

       or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife,

   10then let my wife serve another man;

       let other men sleep with her.

   11For lust is a shameful sin,

       a crime that should be punished.

   12It is a fire that burns all the way to hell.

       It would wipe out everything I own.

   13“If I have been unfair to my male or female servants

       when they brought their complaints to me,

   14how could I face God?

       What could I say when he questioned me?

   15For God created both me and my servants.

       He created us both in the womb.

   16“Have I refused to help the poor,

       or crushed the hopes of widows?

   17Have I been stingy with my food

       and refused to share it with orphans?

   18No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father,

       and all my life I have cared for widows.

   19Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes

       and the needy with nothing to wear,

   20did they not praise me

       for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?

   21“If I raised my hand against an orphan,

       knowing the judges would take my side,

   22then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place!

       Let my arm be torn from its socket!

   23That would be better than facing God’s judgment.

       For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?

   24“Have I put my trust in money

       or felt secure because of my gold?

   25Have I gloated about my wealth

       and all that I own?

   26“Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies,

       or the moon walking down its silver pathway,

   27and been secretly enticed in my heart

       to throw kisses at them in worship?

   28If so, I should be punished by the judges,

       for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.

   29“Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies,

       or become excited when harm came their way?

   30No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone

       or by asking for revenge.

   31“My servants have never said,

       ‘He let others go hungry.’

   32I have never turned away a stranger

       but have opened my doors to everyone.

   33“Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do,

       concealing my guilt in my heart?

   34Have I feared the crowd

       or the contempt of the masses,

       so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?

   35“If only someone would listen to me!

       Look, I will sign my name to my defense.

   Let the Almighty answer me.

       Let my accuser write out the charges against me.

   36I would face the accusation proudly.

       I would wear it like a crown.

   37For I would tell him exactly what I have done.

       I would come before him like a prince.

   38“If my land accuses me

       and all its furrows cry out together,

   39or if I have stolen its crops

       or murdered its owners,

   40then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat,

       and weeds instead of barley.”

Job’s words are ended.

Elihu Responds to Job’s Friends

1Job’s three friends refused to reply further to him because he kept insisting on his innocence.

2Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the clan of Ram, became angry. He was angry because Job refused to admit that he had sinned and that God was right in punishing him. 3He was also angry with Job’s three friends, for they made God appear to be wrong by their inability to answer Job’s arguments. 4Elihu had waited for the others to speak to Job because they were older than he. 5But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily. 6Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said,

   “I am young and you are old,

       so I held back from telling you what I think.

    7I thought, ‘Those who are older should speak,

       for wisdom comes with age.’

    8But there is a spirit within people,

       the breath of the Almighty within them,

       that makes them intelligent.

    9Sometimes the elders are not wise.

       Sometimes the aged do not understand justice.

   10So listen to me,

       and let me tell you what I think.

   11“I have waited all this time,

       listening very carefully to your arguments,

       listening to you grope for words.

   12I have listened,

       but not one of you has refuted Job

       or answered his arguments.

   13And don’t tell me, ‘He is too wise for us.

       Only God can convince him.’

   14If Job had been arguing with me,

       I would not answer with your kind of logic!

   15You sit there baffled,

       with nothing more to say.

   16Should I continue to wait, now that you are silent?

       Must I also remain silent?

   17No, I will say my piece.

       I will speak my mind.

   18For I am full of pent-up words,

       and the spirit within me urges me on.

   19I am like a cask of wine without a vent,

       like a new wineskin ready to burst!

   20I must speak to find relief,

       so let me give my answers.

   21I won’t play favorites

       or try to flatter anyone.

   22For if I tried flattery,

       my Creator would soon destroy me.

Elihu Presents His Case against Job

    1“Listen to my words, Job;

       pay attention to what I have to say.

    2Now that I have begun to speak,

       let me continue.

    3I speak with all sincerity;

       I speak the truth.

    4For the Spirit of God has made me,

       and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

    5Answer me, if you can;

       make your case and take your stand.

    6Look, you and I both belong to God.

       I, too, was formed from clay.

    7So you don’t need to be afraid of me.

       I won’t come down hard on you.

   “You have spoken in my hearing,

       and I have heard your very words.

    9You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin;

       I am innocent; I have no guilt.

   10God is picking a quarrel with me,

       and he considers me his enemy.

   11He puts my feet in the stocks

       and watches my every move.’

   12“But you are wrong, and I will show you why.

       For God is greater than any human being.

   13So why are you bringing a charge against him?

       Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?

   14For God speaks again and again,

       though people do not recognize it.

   15He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night,

       when deep sleep falls on people

       as they lie in their beds.

   16He whispers in their ears

       and terrifies them with warnings.

   17He makes them turn from doing wrong;

       he keeps them from pride.

   18He protects them from the grave,

       from crossing over the river of death.

   19“Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds,

       with ceaseless aching in their bones.

   20They lose their appetite

       for even the most delicious food.

   21Their flesh wastes away,

       and their bones stick out.

   22They are at death’s door;

       the angels of death wait for them.

   23“But if an angel from heaven appears—

       a special messenger to intercede for a person

       and declare that he is upright—

   24he will be gracious and say,

   ‘Rescue him from the grave,

       for I have found a ransom for his life.’

   25Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s,

       firm and youthful again.

   26When he prays to God,

       he will be accepted.

   And God will receive him with joy

       and restore him to good standing.

   27He will declare to his friends,

   ‘I sinned and twisted the truth,

       but it was not worth it.

   28God rescued me from the grave,

       and now my life is filled with light.’

   29“Yes, God does these things

       again and again for people.

   30He rescues them from the grave

       so they may enjoy the light of life.

   31Mark this well, Job. Listen to me,

       for I have more to say.

   32But if you have anything to say, go ahead.

       Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified.

   33But if not, then listen to me.

       Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!”

Elihu Accuses Job of Arrogance

1Then Elihu said:

    2“Listen to me, you wise men.

       Pay attention, you who have knowledge.

    3Job said, ‘The ear tests the words it hears

       just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.’

    4So let us discern for ourselves what is right;

       let us learn together what is good.

    5For Job also said, ‘I am innocent,

       but God has taken away my rights.

    6I am innocent, but they call me a liar.

       My suffering is incurable, though I have not sinned.’

    7“Tell me, has there ever been a man like Job,

       with his thirst for irreverent talk?

    8He chooses evil people as companions.

       He spends his time with wicked men.

    9He has even said, ‘Why waste time

       trying to please God?’

   “Listen to me, you who have understanding.

       Everyone knows that God doesn’t sin!

       The Almighty can do no wrong.

   11He repays people according to their deeds.

       He treats people as they deserve.

   12Truly, God will not do wrong.

       The Almighty will not twist justice.

   13Did someone else put the world in his care?

       Who set the whole world in place?

   14If God were to take back his spirit

       and withdraw his breath,

   15all life would cease,

       and humanity would turn again to dust.

   16“Now listen to me if you are wise.

       Pay attention to what I say.

   17Could God govern if he hated justice?

       Are you going to condemn the almighty judge?

   18For he says to kings, ‘You are wicked,’

       and to nobles, ‘You are unjust.’

   19He doesn’t care how great a person may be,

       and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor.

       He made them all.

   20In a moment they die.

       In the middle of the night they pass away;

       the mighty are removed without human hand.

   21“For God watches how people live;

       he sees everything they do.

   22No darkness is thick enough

       to hide the wicked from his eyes.

   23We don’t set the time

       when we will come before God in judgment.

   24He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone,

       and he sets up others in their place.

   25He knows what they do,

       and in the night he overturns and destroys them.

   26He strikes them down because they are wicked,

       doing it openly for all to see.

   27For they turned away from following him.

       They have no respect for any of his ways.

   28They cause the poor to cry out, catching God’s attention.

       He hears the cries of the needy.

   29But if he chooses to remain quiet,

       who can criticize him?

   When he hides his face, no one can find him,

       whether an individual or a nation.

   30He prevents the godless from ruling

       so they cannot be a snare to the people.

   31“Why don’t people say to God, ‘I have sinned,

       but I will sin no more’?

   32Or ‘I don’t know what evil I have done—tell me.

       If I have done wrong, I will stop at once’?

   33“Must God tailor his justice to your demands?

       But you have rejected him!

   The choice is yours, not mine.

       Go ahead, share your wisdom with us.

   34After all, bright people will tell me,

       and wise people will hear me say,

   35‘Job speaks out of ignorance;

       his words lack insight.’

   36Job, you deserve the maximum penalty

       for the wicked way you have talked.

   37For you have added rebellion to your sin;

       you show no respect,

       and you speak many angry words against God.”

Elihu Reminds Job of God’s Justice

1Then Elihu said:

    2“Do you think it is right for you to claim,

       ‘I am righteous before God’?

    3For you also ask, ‘What’s in it for me?

       What’s the use of living a righteous life?’

    4“I will answer you

       and all your friends, too.

    5Look up into the sky,

       and see the clouds high above you.

    6If you sin, how does that affect God?

       Even if you sin again and again,

       what effect will it have on him?

    7If you are good, is this some great gift to him?

       What could you possibly give him?

    8No, your sins affect only people like yourself,

       and your good deeds also affect only humans.

   “People cry out when they are oppressed.

       They groan beneath the power of the mighty.

   10Yet they don’t ask, ‘Where is God my Creator,

       the one who gives songs in the night?

   11Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals

       and wiser than the birds of the sky?’

   12And when they cry out, God does not answer

       because of their pride.

   13But it is wrong to say God doesn’t listen,

       to say the Almighty isn’t concerned.

   14You say you can’t see him,

       but he will bring justice if you will only wait.

   15You say he does not respond to sinners with anger

       and is not greatly concerned about wickedness.

   16But you are talking nonsense, Job.

       You have spoken like a fool.”

1Elihu continued speaking:

    2“Let me go on, and I will show you the truth.

       For I have not finished defending God!

    3I will present profound arguments

       for the righteousness of my Creator.

    4I am telling you nothing but the truth,

       for I am a man of great knowledge.

   “God is mighty, but he does not despise anyone!

       He is mighty in both power and understanding.

    6He does not let the wicked live

       but gives justice to the afflicted.

    7He never takes his eyes off the innocent,

       but he sets them on thrones with kings

       and exalts them forever.

    8If they are bound in chains

       and caught up in a web of trouble,

    9he shows them the reason.

       He shows them their sins of pride.

   10He gets their attention

       and commands that they turn from evil.

   11“If they listen and obey God,

       they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives.

       All their years will be pleasant.

   12But if they refuse to listen to him,

       they will cross over the river of death,

       dying from lack of understanding.

   13For the godless are full of resentment.

       Even when he punishes them,

       they refuse to cry out to him for help.

   14They die when they are young,

       after wasting their lives in immoral living.

   15But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer.

       For he gets their attention through adversity.

   16“God is leading you away from danger, Job,

       to a place free from distress.

       He is setting your table with the best food.

   17But you are obsessed with whether the godless will be judged.

       Don’t worry, judgment and justice will be upheld.

   18But watch out, or you may be seduced by wealth.

       Don’t let yourself be bribed into sin.

   19Could all your wealth

       or all your mighty efforts

       keep you from distress?

   20Do not long for the cover of night,

       for that is when people will be destroyed.

   21Be on guard! Turn back from evil,

       for God sent this suffering

       to keep you from a life of evil.

Elihu Reminds Job of God’s Power

   22“Look, God is all-powerful.

       Who is a teacher like him?

   23No one can tell him what to do,

       or say to him, ‘You have done wrong.’

   24Instead, glorify his mighty works,

       singing songs of praise.

   25Everyone has seen these things,

       though only from a distance.

   26“Look, God is greater than we can understand.

       His years cannot be counted.

   27He draws up the water vapor

       and then distills it into rain.

   28The rain pours down from the clouds,

       and everyone benefits.

   29Who can understand the spreading of the clouds

       and the thunder that rolls forth from heaven?

   30See how he spreads the lightning around him

       and how it lights up the depths of the sea.

   31By these mighty acts he nourishes the people,

       giving them food in abundance.

   32He fills his hands with lightning bolts

       and hurls each at its target.

   33The thunder announces his presence;

       the storm announces his indignant anger.

    1“My heart pounds as I think of this.

       It trembles within me.

    2Listen carefully to the thunder of God’s voice

       as it rolls from his mouth.

    3It rolls across the heavens,

       and his lightning flashes in every direction.

    4Then comes the roaring of the thunder—

       the tremendous voice of his majesty.

       He does not restrain it when he speaks.

    5God’s voice is glorious in the thunder.

       We can’t even imagine the greatness of his power.

    6“He directs the snow to fall on the earth

       and tells the rain to pour down.

    7Then everyone stops working

       so they can watch his power.

    8The wild animals take cover

       and stay inside their dens.

    9The stormy wind comes from its chamber,

       and the driving winds bring the cold.

   10God’s breath sends the ice,

       freezing wide expanses of water.

   11He loads the clouds with moisture,

       and they flash with his lightning.

   The clouds churn about at his direction.

       They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.

   13He makes these things happen either to punish people

       or to show his unfailing love.

   14“Pay attention to this, Job.

       Stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God!

   15Do you know how God controls the storm

       and causes the lightning to flash from his clouds?

   16Do you understand how he moves the clouds

       with wonderful perfection and skill?

   17When you are sweltering in your clothes

       and the south wind dies down and everything is still,

   18he makes the skies reflect the heat like a bronze mirror.

       Can you do that?

   “So teach the rest of us what to say to God.

       We are too ignorant to make our own arguments.

   20Should God be notified that I want to speak?

       Can people even speak when they are confused?

   21We cannot look at the sun,

       for it shines brightly in the sky

       when the wind clears away the clouds.

   22So also, golden splendor comes from the mountain of God.

       He is clothed in dazzling splendor.

   23We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty;

       but even though he is just and righteous,

       he does not destroy us.

   24No wonder people everywhere fear him.

       All who are wise show him reverence.”

The LORD Challenges Job

1Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:

    2“Who is this that questions my wisdom

       with such ignorant words?

    3Brace yourself like a man,

       because I have some questions for you,

       and you must answer them.

    4“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

       Tell me, if you know so much.

    5Who determined its dimensions

       and stretched out the surveying line?

    6What supports its foundations,

       and who laid its cornerstone

    7as the morning stars sang together

       and all the angels shouted for joy?

    8“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries

       as it burst from the womb,

    9and as I clothed it with clouds

       and wrapped it in thick darkness?

   10For I locked it behind barred gates,

       limiting its shores.

   11I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.

       Here your proud waves must stop!’

   12“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear

       and caused the dawn to rise in the east?

   13Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,

       to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?

   14As the light approaches,

       the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;

       it is robed in brilliant colors.

   15The light disturbs the wicked

       and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

   16“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?

       Have you explored their depths?

   17Do you know where the gates of death are located?

       Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?

   18Do you realize the extent of the earth?

       Tell me about it if you know!

   19“Where does light come from,

       and where does darkness go?

   20Can you take each to its home?

       Do you know how to get there?

   21But of course you know all this!

   For you were born before it was all created,

       and you are so very experienced!

   22“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow

       or seen the storehouses of hail?

   23(I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,

       for the day of battle and war.)

   24Where is the path to the source of light?

       Where is the home of the east wind?

   25“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?

       Who laid out the path for the lightning?

   26Who makes the rain fall on barren land,

       in a desert where no one lives?

   27Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground

       and make the tender grass spring up?

   28“Does the rain have a father?

       Who gives birth to the dew?

   29Who is the mother of the ice?

       Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?

   30For the water turns to ice as hard as rock,

       and the surface of the water freezes.

   31“Can you direct the movement of the stars—

       binding the cluster of the Pleiades

       or loosening the cords of Orion?

   32Can you direct the constellations through the seasons

       or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?

   33Do you know the laws of the universe?

       Can you use them to regulate the earth?

   34“Can you shout to the clouds

       and make it rain?

   35Can you make lightning appear

       and cause it to strike as you direct?

   36Who gives intuition to the heart

       and instinct to the mind?

   37Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?

       Who can tilt the water jars of heaven

   38when the parched ground is dry

       and the soil has hardened into clods?

   39“Can you stalk prey for a lioness

       and satisfy the young lions’ appetites

   40as they lie in their dens

       or crouch in the thicket?

   41Who provides food for the ravens

       when their young cry out to God

       and wander about in hunger?

The LORD’s Challenge Continues

    1“Do you know when the wild goats give birth?

       Have you watched as deer are born in the wild?

    2Do you know how many months they carry their young?

       Are you aware of the time of their delivery?

    3They crouch down to give birth to their young

       and deliver their offspring.

    4Their young grow up in the open fields,

       then leave home and never return.

    5“Who gives the wild donkey its freedom?

       Who untied its ropes?

    6I have placed it in the wilderness;

       its home is the wasteland.

    7It hates the noise of the city

       and has no driver to shout at it.

    8The mountains are its pastureland,

       where it searches for every blade of grass.

    9“Will the wild ox consent to being tamed?

       Will it spend the night in your stall?

   10Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow?

       Will it plow a field for you?

   11Given its strength, can you trust it?

       Can you leave and trust the ox to do your work?

   12Can you rely on it to bring home your grain

       and deliver it to your threshing floor?

   “The ostrich flaps her wings grandly,

       but they are no match for the feathers of the stork.

   14She lays her eggs on top of the earth,

       letting them be warmed in the dust.

   15She doesn’t worry that a foot might crush them

       or a wild animal might destroy them.

   16She is harsh toward her young,

       as if they were not her own.

       She doesn’t care if they die.

   17For God has deprived her of wisdom.

       He has given her no understanding.

   18But whenever she jumps up to run,

       she passes the swiftest horse with its rider.

   19“Have you given the horse its strength

       or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?

   20Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust?

       Its majestic snorting is terrifying!

   21It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength

       when it charges out to battle.

   22It laughs at fear and is unafraid.

       It does not run from the sword.

   23The arrows rattle against it,

       and the spear and javelin flash.

   24It paws the ground fiercely

       and rushes forward into battle when the ram’s horn blows.

   25It snorts at the sound of the horn.

       It senses the battle in the distance.

       It quivers at the captain’s commands and the noise of battle.

   26“Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar

       and spread its wings toward the south?

   27Is it at your command that the eagle rises

       to the heights to make its nest?

   28It lives on the cliffs,

       making its home on a distant, rocky crag.

   29From there it hunts its prey,

       keeping watch with piercing eyes.

   30Its young gulp down blood.

       Where there’s a carcass, there you’ll find it.”

Then the LORD said to Job,

    2“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?

       You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

Job Responds to the LORD

3Then Job replied to the LORD,

    4“I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?

       I will cover my mouth with my hand.

    5I have said too much already.

       I have nothing more to say.”

The LORD Challenges Job Again

6Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:

    7“Brace yourself like a man,

       because I have some questions for you,

       and you must answer them.

    8“Will you discredit my justice

       and condemn me just to prove you are right?

    9Are you as strong as God?

       Can you thunder with a voice like his?

   10All right, put on your glory and splendor,

       your honor and majesty.

   11Give vent to your anger.

       Let it overflow against the proud.

   12Humiliate the proud with a glance;

       walk on the wicked where they stand.

   13Bury them in the dust.

       Imprison them in the world of the dead.

   14Then even I would praise you,

       for your own strength would save you.

   “Take a look at Behemoth,

       which I made, just as I made you.

       It eats grass like an ox.

   16See its powerful loins

       and the muscles of its belly.

   17Its tail is as strong as a cedar.

       The sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together.

   18Its bones are tubes of bronze.

       Its limbs are bars of iron.

   19It is a prime example of God’s handiwork,

       and only its Creator can threaten it.

   20The mountains offer it their best food,

       where all the wild animals play.

   21It lies under the lotus plants,

       hidden by the reeds in the marsh.

   22The lotus plants give it shade

       among the willows beside the stream.

   23It is not disturbed by the raging river,

       not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around it.

   24No one can catch it off guard

       or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.

The LORD’s Challenge Continues

   “Can you catch Leviathan with a hook

       or put a noose around its jaw?

    2Can you tie it with a rope through the nose

       or pierce its jaw with a spike?

    3Will it beg you for mercy

       or implore you for pity?

    4Will it agree to work for you,

       to be your slave for life?

    5Can you make it a pet like a bird,

       or give it to your little girls to play with?

    6Will merchants try to buy it

       to sell it in their shops?

    7Will its hide be hurt by spears

       or its head by a harpoon?

    8If you lay a hand on it,

       you will certainly remember the battle that follows.

       You won’t try that again!

    9No, it is useless to try to capture it.

       The hunter who attempts it will be knocked down.

   10And since no one dares to disturb it,

       who then can stand up to me?

   11Who has given me anything that I need to pay back?

       Everything under heaven is mine.

   12“I want to emphasize Leviathan’s limbs

       and its enormous strength and graceful form.

   13Who can strip off its hide,

       and who can penetrate its double layer of armor?

   14Who could pry open its jaws?

       For its teeth are terrible!

   15The scales on its back are like rows of shields

       tightly sealed together.

   16They are so close together

       that no air can get between them.

   17Each scale sticks tight to the next.

       They interlock and cannot be penetrated.

   18“When it sneezes, it flashes light!

       Its eyes are like the red of dawn.

   19Lightning leaps from its mouth;

       flames of fire flash out.

   20Smoke streams from its nostrils

       like steam from a pot heated over burning rushes.

   21Its breath would kindle coals,

       for flames shoot from its mouth.

   22“The tremendous strength in Leviathan’s neck

       strikes terror wherever it goes.

   23Its flesh is hard and firm

       and cannot be penetrated.

   24Its heart is hard as rock,

       hard as a millstone.

   25When it rises, the mighty are afraid,

       gripped by terror.

   26No sword can stop it,

       no spear, dart, or javelin.

   27Iron is nothing but straw to that creature,

       and bronze is like rotten wood.

   28Arrows cannot make it flee.

       Stones shot from a sling are like bits of grass.

   29Clubs are like a blade of grass,

       and it laughs at the swish of javelins.

   30Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass.

       It plows up the ground as it drags through the mud.

   31“Leviathan makes the water boil with its commotion.

       It stirs the depths like a pot of ointment.

   32The water glistens in its wake,

       making the sea look white.

   33Nothing on earth is its equal,

       no other creature so fearless.

   34Of all the creatures, it is the proudest.

       It is the king of beasts.”

Job Responds to the LORD

1Then Job replied to the LORD:

    2“I know that you can do anything,

       and no one can stop you.

    3You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’

       It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,

       things far too wonderful for me.

    4You said, ‘Listen and I will speak!

       I have some questions for you,

       and you must answer them.’

    5I had only heard about you before,

       but now I have seen you with my own eyes.

    6I take back everything I said,

       and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

Conclusion: The LORD Blesses Job

After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. 8So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” 9So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the LORD commanded them, and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

When Job prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes. In fact, the LORD gave him twice as much as before! 11Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the LORD had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

So the LORD blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

16Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.

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