Job Chides His Accusers
Then Job responded,
2 “Truly then ayou are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
3 “But aI have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And who does not know such things as these?
4 “I am a ajoke to my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and bblameless man is a joke.
5 “He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
6 “The atents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God bare secure,
Whom God brings cinto their power.
7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.
8 “Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare to you.
9 “Who among all these does not know
That athe hand of the Lord has done this,
10 aIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And bthe breath of all mankind?
11 “Does not athe ear test words,
As the palate tastes its food?
12 “Wisdom is with aaged men,
With long life is understanding.
Job Speaks of the Power of God
13 “With Him are awisdom and amight;
To Him belong counsel and bunderstanding.
14 “Behold, He atears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He bimprisons a man, and there can be no release.
15 “Behold, He arestrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He bsends them out, and they inundate 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 aloosens the bond of kings
And binds their loins with a girdle.
19 “He makes priests walk barefoot
And overthrows athe secure ones.
20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speech
And atakes away the discernment 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 the deep darkness into light.
23 “He amakes the nations great, then destroys them;
He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 “He adeprives of intelligence the chiefs 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 bstagger like a drunken man.
Job Says His Friends’ Proverbs Are Ashes
“aBehold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.
2 “aWhat you know I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
3 “But aI would speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to bargue with God.
4 “But you asmear 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 listen to the contentions of my lips.
7 “Will you aspeak what is unjust 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 majesty terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall on you?
12 “Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.
Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated
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 speech,
And let my declaration fill your ears.
18 “Behold now, I have aprepared my case;
I know that bI will be vindicated.
19 “aWho will contend with me?
For then I would be silent and bdie.
20 “Only two things do not do to me,
Then I will not hide from Your face:
21 aRemove Your hand from me,
And let not the dread of You terrify me.
22 “Then call, and aI will answer;
Or let me speak, then reply to me.
23 “aHow many are my iniquities and sins?
Make known to me my rebellion and my sin.
24 “Why do You ahide Your face
And consider me 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 inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27 “You aput my feet in the stocks
And watch 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.
Job Speaks of the Finality of Death
“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 remain.
3 “You also aopen Your eyes on him
And bbring him 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 rest,
Until he fulfills his day like a hired man.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not fail.
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 bexpires, 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 hide me in Sheol,
That You would conceal me auntil Your wrath 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 struggle 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 bobserve my sin.
17 “My transgression is asealed up in a bag,
And You wrap 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 adestroy man’s hope.
20 “You forever overpower him and he adeparts;
You change 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 body pains him,
And he mourns only for himself.”