Job Answers
Then Job answered and said,
2 “Truly then ayou are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
3 But aI have a heart of wisdom as well as you;
I do not fall short of you.
And who does not know such things as these?
4 I am a alaughingstock to my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The righteous and bblameless man is a laughingstock.
5 As for upheaval, there is only contempt by the one who acts at ease,
But it is prepared for those whose feet slip.
6 The atents of the destroyers are complacent,
And those who provoke God bare secure,
Whom God brings cinto their power.
7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them instruct you;
And the birds of the sky, and let them tell you.
8 Or muse to the earth, and let it instruct you;
And let the fish of the sea recount it to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That athe hand of Yahweh has done this,
10 aIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And bthe breath of all the flesh of man?
11 Does not athe ear test words,
As the palate tastes its food?
12 Wisdom is with aaged men,
With long life is discernment.
Job Speaks of God’s Strength
13 “With Him are awisdom and amight;
To Him belong counsel and bdiscernment.
14 Behold, He apulls down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He bcloses a man in, and it cannot be opened.
15 Behold, He arestrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He bsends them out, and they overturn the earth.
16 With Him are strength and sound wisdom;
The amisled and the misleader belong to Him.
17 He makes acounselors walk barefoot
And makes fools of bjudges.
18 He aopens the bond of kings
And binds their loins with a belt.
19 He makes priests walk barefoot
And subverts athe enduring ones.
20 He removes speech from the faithful
And atakes away the discerning taste of the elders.
21 He apours contempt on nobles
And bloosens the belt of the strong.
22 He areveals mysteries from the darkness
And brings out the shadows of death into light.
23 He amakes the nations great, then makes them perish;
He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 He aremoves the heart of wisdom from the heads of the earth’s people
And makes them wander in a pathless waste.
25 They agrope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them bwander about like a drunken man.
I Will Be Declared Righteous
“aBehold, my eye has seen all this;
My ear has heard and understood it.
2 aWhat you know I also know;
I have not fallen short of you.
3 “But aI would speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to bargue with God.
4 But you acover me with lies;
You are all bworthless physicians.
5 O that you would abe completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!
6 Please hear my argument
And give heed to the contentions of my lips.
7 Will you aspeak what is unrighteous for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?
8 Will you ashow partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?
9 Will it be well when He examines you?
Or awill you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
10 He will surely reprove you
If you secretly ashow partiality.
11 Will not aHis exaltedness terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall on you?
12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes;
Your defenses are defenses of clay.
13 “aBe silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come on me what may.
14 Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
And aput my life in my hands?
15 aThough He slay me,
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless I bwill argue my ways before Him.
16 This also will be my asalvation,
For ba godless man may not come before His presence.
17 Listen carefully to my words,
And let my declaration fill your ears.
18 Behold now, I have aarranged my case for justice;
I know that bI will be declared righteous.
19 aWho will contend with me?
For now I am silent and bwill breathe my last.
20 “Only two things do not do to me,
Then I will not hide from Your face:
21 aMove Your hand far from me,
And let not the dread of You terrify me.
22 Then call, and aI will answer;
Or let me speak, then respond to me.
23 aHow many are my iniquities and sins?
Make known to me my transgression and my sin.
24 Why do You ahide Your face
And think of me as bYour enemy?
25 Will You cause a adriven leaf to tremble?
Or will You pursue the dry bchaff?
26 For You write abitter things against me
And bmake me to possess the iniquities of my youth.
27 You aput my feet in the stocks
And kept watch over all my paths;
You set a limit for the soles of my feet,
28 While I am decaying like a arotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth‑eaten.
If a Man Dies, Will He Live Again?
“aMan, who is born of woman,
Is short‑lived and bfull of turmoil.
2 aLike a flower he comes forth and withers.
He also flees like ba shadow and does not stand.
3 You also aopen Your eyes on him
And bbring me into judgment with Yourself.
4 aWho can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!
5 Since his days are determined,
The anumber of his months is with You;
And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.
6 aTurn Your gaze from him that he may cease from toil,
Until he accepts his day like a hired man.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will change back sprouting again,
And its shoots will not cease.
8 Though its roots grow old in the ground
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
9 At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.
10 But aman dies and lies prostrate.
Man bbreathes his last, and where is he?
11 As awater evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
12 So aman lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.
13 “Oh that You would conceal me in Sheol,
That You would hide me auntil Your anger returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my labor I will wait
Until my change comes.
15 You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for athe work of Your hands.
16 For now You anumber my steps,
You do not bkeep watch over my sin.
17 My transgression is asealed up in a bag,
And You cover up my iniquity.
18 “But the falling mountain crumbles away,
And the rock moves from its place;
19 Water wears away stones;
Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
So You amake man’s hope perish.
20 You forever overpower him and he agoes away;
You alter his appearance and send him away.
21 His sons achieve honor, but ahe does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.
22 But his flesh pains him,
And he mourns only for himself.”