\v 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned from evil.
\v 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
\v 3 He possessed seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pairs of oxen, and five hundred donkeys and a great many servants. He was the man who was the greatest of all the people of the East.
\s5
\v 4 On each son's assigned day, he would give a feast in his house. They would send and call for their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
\v 5 When the days of the feast were over, Job would send for them and he would consecrate them. He would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings for each of his children, for he would say, "It may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Job always did this.
\s5
\p
\v 6 Then it was the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh. Satan also came with them.
\v 7 Yahweh said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, "From wandering on the earth, from going back and forth on it."
\v 8 Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns from evil."
\s5
\v 9 Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, "Does Job fear God without reason?
\v 10 Have you not put a barrier around him, around his house, and around all that is his from every side? You have blessed the deeds of his hands, and his cattle have burst forth in the land.
\v 11 But now stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and see if he does not curse you to your face."
\v 12 Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him himself do not stretch out your hand." Then Satan went away from the presence of Yahweh.
\s5
\p
\v 13 It came about that on a certain day, his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.
\v 14 A messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them.
\v 15 Then the Sabeans fell on them and took them away. As for the servants, they have struck them with the edge of the sword. I alone have escaped to tell you."
\s5
\v 16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants. I alone have escaped to tell you."
\v 17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three groups, attacked the camels, and have taken them away. As for the servants, they have struck them with the edge of the sword. I alone have escaped to tell you."
\s5
\v 18 While he was yet speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.
\v 19 A strong wind came from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house. It fell on the young people, and they died. I alone have escaped to tell you."
\s5
\p
\v 20 Then Job rose, tore his robe, shaved his head, lay facedown on the ground, and worshiped God.
\v 21 He said, "I was naked when I came out of my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I will return there. It is Yahweh who gave, and it is Yahweh who has taken away. May the name of Yahweh be blessed."
\v 22 In all this matter, Job did not sin, nor did he accuse God of wrongdoing.
\s5
\c 2
\p
\v 1 Then it was the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh. Satan also came with them to present himself before Yahweh.
\v 2 Yahweh said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, "From wandering on the earth, from going back and forth on it."
\s5
\v 3 Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. He still holds fast to his integrity, although you misled me against him, to destroy him without cause."
\s5
\s5
\v 4 Satan answered Yahweh and said, "Skin for skin, indeed; a man will give all he has for his life.
\v 5 But stretch out your hand now and touch his bones and his flesh, and see if he does not curse you to your face."
\v 6 Yahweh said to Satan, "See, he is in your hand; it is only his life that you must spare."
\s5
\p
\v 7 Then Satan went away from the presence of Yahweh. He struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his feet to his head.
\v 8 Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself with, and he sat down in the middle of ashes.
\s5
\v 9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die."
\v 10 But he said to her, "You talk as a foolish woman talks. Should we receive the good from God and not receive the bad?" In all this matter, Job did not sin with his lips.
\s5
\p
\v 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him, each of them came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They set a time to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
\s5
\v 12 When they lifted up their eyes at a distance, they did not recognize him. They raised their voices and wept; each tore his robe and threw dust into the air and upon his own head.
\v 13 Then they sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights. No one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
\s5
\c 3
\p
\v 1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born.
\q
\v 2 He said,
\q
\v 3 "May the day on which I was born perish,
\q the night that said, 'A boy has been conceived.'
\s5
\q
\v 4 May that day be dark;
\q may not God from above call it to mind,
\q neither may the sun shine on it.
\q
\v 5 May darkness and the shadow of death claim it for their own.
\q May a cloud live over it;
\q may everything that makes the day black truly terrify it.
\s5
\q
\v 6 As for that night, may thick darkness seize it.
\q May it not rejoice among the days of the year;
\q may it not come into the number of the months.
\q
\v 7 See, may that night be barren;
\q may no joyful voice come into it.
\s5
\q
\v 8 May they curse that day,
\q those who know how to wake up Leviathan.
\q
\v 9 May the stars of that day's dawn be dark.
\q May that day look for light, but find none;
\q neither may it see the eyelids of the dawn,
\q
\v 10 because it did not shut up the doors of my mother's womb,
\q and because it did not hide trouble from my eyes.
\s5
\q
\v 11 Why did I not die when I came out from the womb?
\q Why did I not give up my spirit when my mother bore me?
\q
\v 12 Why did her knees welcome me?
\q Why did her breasts receive me so that I should suck?
\s5
\q
\v 13 For now I would have been lying down quietly.
\q I would have slept and been at rest
\q
\v 14 with kings and counselors of the earth,
\q who built up tombs for themselves that are now in ruins.
\s5
\q
\v 15 Or I would have been lying with princes who once had gold,
\q who had filled their houses with silver.
\q
\v 16 Or perhaps I would have been stillborn,
\q like infants that never see the light.
\s5
\q
\v 17 There the wicked cease from trouble;
\q there the weary are at rest.
\q
\v 18 There the prisoners are at ease together;
\q they do not hear the voice of the slave driver.
\q
\v 19 Both small and great people are there;
\q the servant is free from his master there.
\s5
\q
\v 20 Why is light given to him who is in misery?
\q Why is life given to the one who is bitter in soul,
\q
\v 21 to one who longs for death without it coming;
\q to one who digs for death more than for hidden treasure?
\q
\v 22 Why is light given to one who rejoices very much
\q and is glad when he finds the grave?
\s5
\q
\v 23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
\q a man whom God has hedged in?
\q
\v 24 For my sighing happens instead of eating;
\q my groaning is poured out like water.
\s5
\q
\v 25 For the thing that I feared has come on me;
\q what I was afraid of has come to me.
\q
\v 26 I am not at ease, I am not quiet, and I have no rest;
\f + \ft Several modern versions leave out \fqa He will not depart out of darkness \fqa* , because they believe that this expression was mistakenly copied from 15:22. \f*
\q a flame will dry up his stalks;
\q at the breath of God's mouth he will go away.
\f + \ft The Hebrew text has \fqa He will go away by the breath of his mouth \fqa* , which some modern versions, including the ULB and UDB, interpret as meaning the breath of God's mouth. However, other modern versions follow an ancient Greek reading, \fqa his flower will fall with the wind \fqa* . \f*
\s5
\q
\v 31 Let him not trust in useless things, deceiving himself;
\q for uselessness will be his reward.
\q
\v 32 It will happen before his time should come to die;
\q his branch will not be green.
\q
\v 33 He will drop his unripe grapes like a grapevine;
\q he will cast off his flowers like the olive tree.
\s5
\q
\v 34 For the company of godless people will be barren;
\q fire will consume their tents of bribery.
\q
\v 35 They conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity;
\q their womb conceives deceit."
\s5
\c 16
\p
\v 1 Then Job answered and said,
\q
\v 2 "I have heard many such things;
\q you are all miserable comforters.
\q
\v 3 Will useless words ever have an end?
\q What is wrong with you that you answer like this?
\s5
\q
\v 4 I also could speak as you do,
\q if you were in my place;
\q I could collect and join words together against you
\q and shake my head at you in mockery.
\q
\v 5 I would strengthen you with my mouth,
\q and the quivering of my lips will bring you relief!
\s5
\q
\v 6 If I speak, my grief is not lessened;
\q if I keep from speaking, how am I helped?
\q
\v 7 But now, God, you have made me weary;
\q you have made all my family desolate.
\q
\v 8 You have made me dry up, which itself is a witness against me;
\q the leanness of my body rises up against me,
\q and it testifies against my face.
\s5
\q
\v 9 God has torn me in his wrath and persecuted me;
\q my enemy fastens his eyes on me as he tears me apart.
\q
\v 10 People have gaped with open mouth at me;
\q they have hit me reproachfully on the cheek;
\q they have gathered together against me.
\s5
\q
\v 11 God hands me over to ungodly people,
\q and throws me into the hands of wicked people.
\q
\v 12 I was at ease, and he broke me apart.
\q Indeed, he has taken me by the neck and dashed me to pieces;
\q he has also set me up as his target.
\s5
\q
\v 13 His archers surround me all around;
\q God pierces my kidneys and does not spare me;
\q he pours out my bile on the ground.
\q
\v 14 He smashes through my wall again and again;
\q he runs upon me like a warrior.
\s5
\q
\v 15 I have sewn sackcloth on my skin;
\q I have thrust my horn into the ground.
\q
\v 16 My face is red with weeping;
\q on my eyelids is the shadow of death
\q
\v 17 although there is no violence in my hands,
\q and my prayer is pure.
\s5
\q
\v 18 Earth, do not cover up my blood;
\q let my cry have no resting place.
\q
\v 19 Even now, see, my witness is in heaven;
\q he who vouches for me is on high.
\s5
\q
\v 20 My friends scoff at me,
\q but my eye pours out tears to God.
\q
\v 21 I ask for that witness in heaven to argue for this man with God
\q as a man does with his neighbor!
\q
\v 22 For when a few years have passed,
\q I will go to a place from where I will not return.
\s5
\c 17
\m
\q
\v 1 My spirit is consumed, and my days are over;
\q the grave is ready for me.
\q
\v 2 Surely there are mockers with me;
\q my eye must always see their provocation.
\m
\q
\v 3 Give now a pledge, be a guarantee for me with yourself;
\q who else is there who will help me?
\s5
\q
\v 4 For you, God, have kept their hearts from understanding;
\q therefore, you will not exalt them over me.
\q
\v 5 He who denounces his friends for a reward,
\q the eyes of his children will fail.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 6 But he has made me a byword of the people;
\q they spit in my face.
\q
\v 7 My eye is also dim because of sorrow;
\q all my body parts are as thin as shadows.
\q
\v 8 Upright men will be stunned by this;
\q the innocent man will stir himself up against godless men.
\s5
\q
\v 9 The righteous man will keep to his way;
\q he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.
\q
\v 10 But as for you all, come on now;
\q I will not find a wise man among you.
\s5
\q
\v 11 My days are past; my plans are shattered,
\q and so are the desires of my heart. \f + \ft Some modern versions have \fqa My days are past, as are my plans. The wishes of my heart are finished \fqa* or \fqa ... the strings of my heart have been broken \fqa* . Others have \fqa My days are past; my plans are over, as are the wishes of my heart \fqa* \f*
\q
\v 12 These people, these mockers, change the night into day;
\q light is near to darkness.
\s5
\q
\v 13 If the only home I hope for is Sheol;
\q and if I have spread my couch in the darkness;
\q
\v 14 and if I have said to the pit, 'You are my father,'
\q and to the worm, 'You are my mother or my sister,'
\q
\v 15 where then is my hope?
\q As for my hope, who can see any?
\s5
\q
\v 16 Will hope go down with me to the gates of Sheol
\v 13 If I ignored the plea for justice from my male or female servant
\q when they argued with me,
\q
\v 14 what then would I do when God rises up to accuse me?
\q When he comes to judge me, how would I answer him?
\q
\v 15 Did the one who made me in the womb not make them also?
\q Did not the same one mold us all in the womb?
\m
\s5
\q
\v 16 If I have withheld poor people from their desire,
\q or if I have caused the eyes of the widow to grow dim from crying,
\q
\v 17 or if I have eaten my morsel alone
\q and not allowed those without fathers to eat it also—
\q
\v 18 because from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father,
\q and I have guided his mother, a widow, from my own mother's womb.
\s5
\q
\v 19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
\q or if I have seen that a needy man had no clothing;
\q
\v 20 if his heart has not blessed me
\q because he has not been warmed with the wool of my sheep,
\q
\v 21 if I have lifted up my hand against fatherless people
\q because I saw my support in the city gate,
\q then bring charges against me!
\s5
\q
\v 22 If I have done these things, then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade,
\q and let my arm be broken from its joint.
\q
\v 23 For I dreaded destruction from God;
\q because of his majesty, I was not able to do those things.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 24 If I have made gold my hope,
\q and if I have said to fine gold, 'You are what I am confident in';
\q
\v 25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
\q because my hand had gotten many possessions,
\q then bring charges against me!
\s5
\q
\v 26 If I have seen the sun when it shone,
\q or the moon walking in its brightness,
\q
\v 27 and if my heart has been secretly attracted,
\q so that my mouth has kissed my hand in worship of them—
\q
\v 28 this also would be a crime to be punished by judges,
\q for I would have denied the God who is above.
\s5
\q
\v 29 If I have rejoiced at the destruction of anyone who hated me
\q or congratulated myself when disaster overtook him,
\q then bring charges against me!
\q
\v 30 Indeed, I have not even allowed my mouth to sin
\q by asking for his life with a curse.
\s5
\q
\v 31 If the men of my tent have never said,
\q 'Who can find one who has not been filled with Job's food?'
\q
\v 32 (even the foreigner has never had to stay in the city square,
\q because I have always opened my doors to the traveler),
\q and if that is not so, then bring charges against me!
\s5
\q
\v 33 If, like mankind, I have hidden my sins
\q by hiding my guilt inside my tunic
\q
\v 34 (because I feared the great multitude,
\q because the contempt of families terrified me,
\q so that I kept silent and would not go outside),
\q then bring charges against me!
\s5
\q
\v 35 Oh, if only I had someone to hear me!
\q See, here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me!
\q If only I had the indictment that my opponent has written!
\q
\v 36 Surely I would carry it openly on my shoulder;
\q I would put it on like a crown.
\q
\v 37 I would declare to him an accounting for my steps;
\q as a confident prince I would go up to him.
\s5
\q
\v 38 If my land ever cries out against me,
\q and its furrows weep together,
\q
\v 39 if I have eaten its harvest without paying for it
\q or have caused its owners to lose their lives,
\q
\v 40 then let thorns grow instead of wheat
\q and weeds instead of barley."
\m
\p The words of Job are finished.
\s5
\c 32
\p
\v 1 So these three men stopped answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes.
\v 2 Then was kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram; it was kindled against Job because he justified himself rather than God.
\s5
\v 3 Elihu's anger was also kindled against his three friends because they had found no answer to Job, and yet they had condemned Job.
\v 4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the other men were older than he.
\v 5 However, when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, his anger was kindled.
\s5
\p
\v 6 Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up and said,
\q "I am young, and you are very old.
\q That is why I held back and did not dare to tell you my own opinion.
\q
\v 7 I said, "Length of days should speak;
\q a multitude of years should teach wisdom.
\s5
\q
\v 8 But there is a spirit in a man;
\q the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
\q
\v 9 It is not only the great people who are wise,
\q nor the aged people alone who understand justice.
\q
\v 10 Therefore I say to you, 'Listen to me;
\q I will also tell you my knowledge.'
\s5
\q
\v 11 See, I waited for your words;
\q I listened to your arguments
\q while you were thinking about what to say.
\q
\v 12 Indeed, I paid attention to you,
\q but, see, there was not one of you who could convince Job
\q or who could respond to his words.
\s5
\q
\v 13 Be careful not to say, 'We have found wisdom!'
\q God will have to defeat Job; mere man cannot do it.
\q
\v 14 For Job has not directed his words against me,
\q so I will not answer him with your words.
\s5
\q
\v 15 These three men are dumbfounded; they can answer Job no longer;
\q they have not a word more to say.
\q
\v 16 Should I wait because they are not speaking,
\q because they stand there silent and answer no more?
\s5
\q
\v 17 No, I also will answer on my part;
\q I will also tell them my knowledge.
\q
\v 18 For I am full of words;
\q the spirit in me compels me.
\q
\v 19 See, my breast is like fermenting wine that has no vent;
\q like new wineskins, it is ready to burst.
\s5
\q
\v 20 I will speak so that I may be refreshed;
\q I will open my lips and answer.
\q
\v 21 I will not show favoritism;
\q neither will I give honorific titles to any man.
\q
\v 22 For I do not know how to give such titles;
\q if I did so, my Maker would soon take me away.
\s5
\c 33
\m
\q
\v 1 So now, Job, I beg you, hear my speech;
\q listen to all my words.
\q
\v 2 See now, I have opened my mouth;
\q my tongue has spoken in my mouth.
\q
\v 3 My words come from the uprightness of my heart;
\q my lips speak pure knowledge.
\s5
\q
\v 4 The Spirit of God has made me;
\q the breath of the Almighty has given me life.
\q
\v 5 If you can, answer me;
\q set your words in order before me and stand up.
\s5
\q
\v 6 See, I am just as you are in God's sight;
\q I also have been formed out of the clay.
\q
\v 7 See, terror of me will not make you afraid;
\q neither will my pressure be heavy upon you.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 8 You have certainly spoken in my hearing;
\q I have heard the sound of your words saying,
\q
\v 9 'I am clean and without transgression;
\q I am innocent, and there is no sin in me.
\s5
\q
\v 10 See, God finds opportunities to attack me;
\q he regards me as his enemy.
\q
\v 11 He puts my feet in stocks;
\q he watches all my paths.'
\q
\v 12 See, in this you are not right—I will answer you,
\q for God is greater than man.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 13 Why do you struggle against him?
\q He does not account for any of his doings.
\q
\v 14 For God speaks once—
\q yes, twice, though man does not notice it.
\q
\v 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
\q when deep sleep falls upon men,
\q in slumber on the bed—
\s5
\q
\v 16 then God opens the ears of men,
\q and frightens them with threats,
\q
\v 17 in order to pull man back from his sinful purposes,
\q and keep pride from him.
\q
\v 18 God keeps man's life back from the pit,
\q his life from crossing over to death.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 19 Man is punished also with pain on his bed,
\q with constant agony in his bones,
\q
\v 20 so that his life abhors food,
\q and his soul abhors delicacies.
\s5
\q
\v 21 His flesh is consumed away so that it cannot be seen;
\q his bones, once not seen, now stick out.
\q
\v 22 Indeed, his soul draws close to the pit,
\q his life to those who wish to destroy it.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 23 But if there is an angel who can be a mediator for him,
\q a mediator, one from among the thousands of angels,
\q to show him what is right to do,
\q
\v 24 and if the angel is kind to him and says to God,
\q 'Save this person from going down to the pit;
\q I have found a ransom for him,'
\s5
\q
\v 25 then his flesh will become fresher than a child's;
\q he will return to the days of his youthful strength.
\q
\v 26 He will pray to God, and God will be kind to him,
\q so that he sees God's face with joy.
\q God will give the person his triumph.
\s5
\q
\v 27 Then that person will sing in front of other people and say,
\q 'I sinned and perverted that which was right,
\q but my sin was not punished.
\q
\v 28 God has rescued my soul from going down into the pit;
\q my life will continue to see light.'
\m
\s5
\q
\v 29 See, God does all these things with a person,
\q twice, yes, even three times,
\q
\v 30 to bring his soul back from the pit,
\q so that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
\s5
\q
\v 31 Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;
\q be silent and I will speak.
\q
\v 32 If you have anything to say, answer me;
\q speak, for I wish to prove that you are in the right.
\q
\v 33 If not, then listen to me;
\q remain silent, and I will teach you wisdom."
\s5
\c 34
\p
\v 1 Moreover, Elihu continued to speak:
\q
\v 2 "Listen to my words, you wise men;
\q hear me, you who have knowledge.
\q
\v 3 For the ear tries words
\q as the palate tastes food.
\s5
\q
\v 4 Let us choose for ourselves what is just:
\q let us discover among ourselves what is good.
\q
\v 5 For Job has said, 'I am righteous,
\q but God has taken away my rights.
\q
\v 6 Regardless of my rights, I am considered to be a liar.
\q My wound is incurable, although I am without sin.'
\s5
\q
\v 7 What man is like Job,
\q who drinks up mockery like water,
\q
\v 8 who goes around in the company of those who do evil,
\q and who walks with wicked men?
\q
\v 9 For he has said, 'It is no use to a person
\q to take pleasure in doing what God wants.'
\s5
\q
\v 10 So listen to me, you men of understanding:
\q far be it from God that he should do wickedness;
\q far be it from the Almighty that he should commit sin.
\q
\v 11 For he pays back a person's work;
\q he makes every man come upon the reward of his own ways.
\q
\v 12 Indeed, God does nothing wicked,
\q nor does the Almighty ever pervert justice.
\s5
\q
\v 13 Who put him in charge over the earth?
\q Who put the whole world under him?
\q
\v 14 If he ever set his intentions only on himself,
\q and if he ever gathered back to himself his spirit and his breath,
\q
\v 15 then all flesh would perish together;
\q mankind would return to dust again.
\s5
\q
\v 16 If now you have understanding, listen to this;
\q listen to the sound of my words.
\q
\v 17 Can one who hates justice govern?
\q Will you condemn God, who is righteous and mighty?
\s5
\q
\v 18 God, who says to a king, 'You are vile,'
\q or says to nobles, 'You are wicked'?
\q
\v 19 God, who does not show favoritism to leaders
\q and does not acknowledge rich people more than poor,
\q for they all are the work of his hands.
\q
\v 20 In a moment they will die;
\q at midnight people will be shaken and will pass away;
\q mighty people will be taken away, but not by human hands.
\s5
\q
\v 21 For God's eyes are upon a person's ways;
\q he sees all his steps.
\q
\v 22 There is no darkness, no thick gloom
\q where the doers of iniquity may hide themselves.
\q
\v 23 For God does not need to examine a person further;
\q there is no need for any person to go before him in judgment.
\s5
\q
\v 24 He breaks mighty men into pieces for their ways that need no further investigation;
\q he puts others in their places.
\q
\v 25 In this way he has knowledge of their deeds;
\q he overthrows these people in the night; they are destroyed.
\s5
\q
\v 26 In the open sight of others, he kills them for their wicked deeds like criminals
\q
\v 27 because they turned away from following him
\q and refused to acknowledge any of his ways.
\q
\v 28 In this way, they made the cry of poor people come to him;
\q he heard the cry of afflicted people.
\s5
\q
\v 29 When he stays silent, who can condemn him?
\q If he hides his face, who can perceive him?
\q He rules over nation and individual alike,
\q
\v 30 so that a godless man may not rule,
\q so that there may be no one to entrap people.
\s5
\q
\v 31 Suppose someone says to God,
\q 'I am certainly guilty, but I will not sin any longer;
\q
\v 32 teach me what I cannot see;
\q I have committed sin, but I will do it no longer.'
\q
\v 33 Do you think that God will punish that person's sin, since you dislike what God does?
\q You must choose, not I.
\q So say what it is that you know.
\s5
\q
\v 34 Men of understanding will say to me—
\q indeed, every wise man who hears me will say,
\q
\v 35 'Job speaks without knowledge;
\q his words are without wisdom.'
\s5
\q
\v 36 If only Job were put on trial in the smallest details of his case
\q because of his talking like wicked men.
\q
\v 37 For he adds rebellion to his sin;
\q he claps his hands in mockery in our midst;
\q he piles up words against God."
\s5
\c 35
\p
\v 1 Moreover Elihu continued, saying,
\q
\v 2 "Do you think this is just
\q when you say, 'My right before God'?
\q
\v 3 For you ask, 'What use is it to me?'
\q and, 'Would I be better off if I had sinned?'
\s5
\q
\v 4 I will answer you,
\q both you and your friends.
\q
\v 5 Look up at the sky, and see it;
\q see the sky, which is higher than you.
\s5
\q
\v 6 If you have sinned, what harm do you do to God?
\q If your transgressions pile up high, what do you do to him?
\q
\v 7 If you are righteous, what can you give to him?
\q What will he receive from your hand?
\q
\v 8 Your wickedness may hurt a man, as you are a man,
\q and your righteousness might benefit another son of man.
\s5
\q
\v 9 Because of many acts of oppression, people cry out;
\q they call for help from the arms of mighty men.
\q
\v 10 But no one says, 'Where is God my Maker,
\q who gives songs in the night,
\q
\v 11 who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth,
\q and who makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?'
\s5
\q
\v 12 There they cry out, but God gives no answer
\q because of the pride of evil men.
\q
\v 13 God will certainly not hear a foolish cry;
\q the Almighty will pay no attention to it.
\q
\v 14 How much less will he answer you if you say that you do not see him,
\q that your case is before him, and that you are waiting for him!
\s5
\q
\v 15 How much less will he answer you if you say that he never punishes anyone in anger,
\q and that he is not very concerned about people's pride.
\q
\v 16 So Job opens his mouth only to speak foolishness;
\q he piles up words without knowledge."
\s5
\c 36
\p
\v 1 Elihu continued on and said,
\q
\v 2 "Permit me to speak a little longer, and I will show you some things
\q because I have a little more to say in defense of God.
\q
\v 3 I will obtain my knowledge from far off;
\q I will acknowledge that righteousness belongs to my Maker.
\s5
\q
\v 4 For indeed, my words will not be false;
\q someone who is mature in knowledge is with you.
\q
\v 5 See, God is mighty, and despises no one;
\q he is mighty in strength of understanding.
\s5
\q
\v 6 He does not preserve the life of wicked people
\q but instead does what is right for those who suffer.
\q
\v 7 He does not withdraw his eyes from righteous people
\q but instead sets them on thrones like kings forever,
\q and they are lifted up.
\s5
\q
\v 8 If they are bound in chains
\q and trapped in cords of suffering,
\q
\v 9 then he reveals to them what they have done,
\q and their transgressions and their pride.
\s5
\q
\v 10 He also opens their ears to his instruction,
\q and commands them to turn back from iniquity.
\q
\v 11 If they listen to him and worship him,
\q they will spend their days in prosperity,
\q their years in contentment.
\q
\v 12 However, if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword;
\q they will die because they have no knowledge.
\s5
\q
\v 13 Those who are godless in heart store up their anger;
\q they do not cry out for help even when God ties them up.
\q
\v 14 They die in their youth;
\q their lives end among the cultic prostitutes.
\s5
\q
\v 15 God rescues afflicted people by means of their afflictions;
\q he opens their ears by means of their oppression.
\q
\v 16 Indeed, he would like to draw you out of distress
\q into a broad place where there is no hardship
\q and where your table would be set with food full of fatness.
\s5
\q
\v 17 But you are full of judgment on wicked people;
\q judgment and justice have laid hold of you.
\q
\v 18 Do not let your anger entice you to mockery,
\q or the greatness of a ransom to turn you aside.
\s5
\q
\v 19 Can your wealth benefit you, so that you will not be in distress,
\q or can all the force of your strength help you?
\q
\v 20 Do not desire the night, to commit sin against others,
\q when peoples are cut off in their place.
\q
\v 21 Be careful that you do not turn to sin
\q because you are being tested by suffering so that you will stay away from sinning.
\s5
\q
\v 22 See, God is exalted in his power;
\q who is a teacher like him?
\q
\v 23 Who has ever instructed him about his way?
\q Who can ever say to him, 'You have committed unrighteousness?'
\q
\v 24 Remember to praise his deeds,
\q of which people have sung.
\s5
\q
\v 25 All people have looked on those deeds,
\q but they see those deeds only from far away.
\q
\v 26 See, God is great, but we do not understand him well;
\q the number of his years is incalculable.
\s5
\q
\v 27 For he draws up the drops of water
\q that he distills as rain from his vapor,
\f + \ft Some modern versions have \fqa that distill as rain from his vapor \fqa* . \f*
\q
\v 28 which the clouds pour down
\q and drop in abundance on mankind.
\q
\v 29 Indeed, can anyone understand the extensive spread of the clouds
\q and the thunder from his hut?
\s5
\q
\v 30 See, he spreads his lightning around him
\q and covers the roots of the sea.
\q
\v 31 In this way he judges the peoples
\q and gives food in abundance.
\s5
\q
\v 32 He fills his hands with the lightning
\q until he commands it to strike its mark.
\q
\v 33 Its thunder warns of the storm,
\q the cattle can also hear it is coming.
\s5
\c 37
\m
\q
\v 1 Indeed, my heart trembles at this;
\q it is moved out of its place.
\q
\v 2 Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice,
\q the sound that goes out from his mouth.
\q
\v 3 He sends it out under the whole sky,
\q and he sends out his lightning to the edges of the earth.
\s5
\q
\v 4 A voice roars after it;
\q he thunders with the voice of his majesty;
\q he does not restrain the lightning bolts when his voice is heard.
\q
\v 5 God thunders marvelously with his voice;
\q he does great things that we cannot comprehend.
\q
\v 6 For he says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth';
\q likewise to the rain shower,
\q 'Become a great shower of rain.'
\s5
\q
\v 7 He stops the hand of every man from working,
\q so that all people whom he has made may see his deeds.
\q
\v 8 Then the beasts go into hiding
\q and stay in their dens.
\q
\v 9 The storm comes from its chamber in the south
\q and the cold from the scattering winds in the north.
\s5
\q
\v 10 By the breath of God ice is given;
\q the expanse of the waters is frozen like metal.
\q
\v 11 Indeed, he weighs down the thick cloud with moisture;
\q he scatters his lightning through the clouds.
\s5
\q
\v 12 He swirls the clouds around by his guidance,
\q so that they may do whatever he commands them
\q above the surface of the whole world.
\q
\v 13 He makes all of this happen; sometimes it happens for correction, sometimes for his land,
\q and sometimes as acts of covenant faithfulness.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 14 Listen to this, Job;
\q stop and think about God's marvelous deeds.
\q
\v 15 Do you know how God establishes the clouds
\q and makes the lightning bolts to flash in them?
\s5
\q
\v 16 Do you understand the floating of the clouds,
\q the marvelous deeds of God, who is perfect in knowledge?
\q
\v 17 Do you understand how your garments become hot
\q when the land is still because the wind comes from the south?
\s5
\q
\v 18 Can you spread out the sky as he can—
\q the sky, which is as strong as a mirror of cast metal?
\q
\v 19 Teach us what we should say to him,
\q for we cannot lay out our arguments in order because of the darkness of our minds.
\q
\v 20 Should he be told that I wish to speak with him?
\q Would a person wish to be swallowed up?
\m
\s5
\q
\v 21 Now, people cannot look at the sun when it is bright in the sky
\q after the wind has passed through and has cleared it of its clouds.
\q
\v 22 Out of the north comes golden splendor—
\q over God is fearsome majesty.
\s5
\q
\v 23 As for the Almighty, we cannot find him!
\q He is great in power;
\q he does not oppress justice and abundant righteousness.
\q
\v 24 Therefore, people fear him.
\q He does not pay any attention to those who are wise in their own minds."
\s5
\c 38
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh called to Job out of a fierce storm and said,
\q
\v 2 "Who is this who brings darkness to plans
\q by means of words without knowledge?
\q
\v 3 Now gird up your loins like a man
\q for I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.
\s5
\q
\v 4 Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations?
\q Tell me, if you have so much understanding.
\q
\v 5 Who determined its dimensions? Tell me, if you know.
\q Who stretched the measuring line over it?
\s5
\q
\v 6 On what were its foundations laid?
\q Who laid its cornerstone
\q
\v 7 when the morning stars sang together
\q and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
\s5
\q
\v 8 Who shut up the sea with doors
\q when it burst out, as if it had come out of the womb—
\q
\v 9 when I made clouds its clothing,
\q and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
\s5
\q
\v 10 That was when I marked out for the sea my boundary,
\q and when I placed its bars and doors,
\q
\v 11 and when I said to it, 'You may come this far, but no farther;
\q here is where I will put a boundary to the pride of your waves.'
\s5
\q
\v 12 Have you given orders to the morning,
\q or caused the dawn to know its place,
\q
\v 13 so that it might take hold of the edges of the earth
\q and shake the wicked out of it?
\s5
\q
\v 14 The earth is changed in appearance like clay changes under a seal;
\q all things on it stand out clearly like the folds of a piece of clothing.
\q
\v 15 From wicked people their 'light' is taken away;
\q their uplifted arm is broken.
\s5
\q
\v 16 Have you gone to the sources of the waters of the sea?
\q Have you walked in the lowest parts of the deep?
\q
\v 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
\q Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
\q
\v 18 Have you understood the earth in its expanse?
\q Tell me, if you know it all.
\s5
\q
\v 19 Where is the way to the resting place of light—
\q as for darkness, where is its place?
\q
\v 20 Can you lead light and darkness to their places of work?
\q Can you find the way back to their houses for them?
\q
\v 21 Undoubtedly you know, for you were born then;
\q the number of your days is so large!
\s5
\q
\v 22 Have you entered the storehouses for the snow,
\q or have you seen the storehouses for the hail,
\q
\v 23 these things that I have kept for times of trouble,
\q for days of battle and war?
\q
\v 24 What is the path to where the lightning bolts are distributed
\q or to where the winds are scattered from the east over the earth?
\s5
\q
\v 25 Who has created the channels for the floods of rain,
\q or who has made a path for the thunder,
\q
\v 26 to cause it to rain on lands where no person exists,
\q and on the wilderness, in which there is no one,
\q
\v 27 to satisfy the devastated and desolate places,
\q and to make the ground sprout with grass?
\s5
\q
\v 28 Does the rain have a father,
\q or, who fathers the drops of dew?
\q
\v 29 Out of whose womb did the ice come?
\q Who bore the white frost out of the sky?
\q
\v 30 The waters hide themselves and become like stone;
\q the surface of the deep becomes frozen.
\s5
\q
\v 31 Can you fasten chains on the Pleiades,
\q or undo the cords of Orion?
\q
\v 32 Can you lead the constellations to appear at their proper times?
\q Can you guide the Bear with its children?
\q
\v 33 Do you know the regulations of the sky?
\q Could you set in place the sky's rule over the earth?
\s5
\q
\v 34 Can you raise your voice up to the clouds,
\q so that an abundance of rainwater may cover you?
\q
\v 35 Can you send out bolts of lightning that they may go out,
\q that they say to you, 'Here we are'?
\s5
\q
\v 36 Who has put wisdom in the clouds
\q or has given understanding to the mists?
\q
\v 37 Who can number the clouds by his skill?
\q Who can pour out the water skins of the sky
\q
\v 38 when the dust runs into a hard mass
\q and the clods of earth clump tightly together?
\s5
\q
\v 39 Can you hunt down a victim for a lioness
\q or satisfy the appetite of her young lion cubs
\q
\v 40 when they are crouching in their dens
\q and sheltering in hiding to lie in wait?
\s5
\q
\v 41 Who provides victims for the ravens
\q when their young ones cry out to God
\q and stagger about for lack of food?
\s5
\c 39
\m
\q
\v 1 Do you know at what time the wild goats in the rocks bear their young?
\q Can you watch when the deer are having their fawns?
\q
\v 2 Can you count the months that they gestate?
\q Do you know the time when they bear their young?
\s5
\q
\v 3 They crouch down and birth their young,
\q and then they finish their labor pains.
\q
\v 4 Their young ones become strong and grow up in the open fields;
\q they go out and do not come back again.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 5 Who let the wild donkey go free?
\q Who has untied the bonds of the swift donkey,
\q
\v 6 whose home I have made in the Arabah,
\q his house in the salt land?
\s5
\q
\v 7 He laughs in scorn at the noises in the city;
\q he does not hear the driver's shouts.
\q
\v 8 He roams over the mountains as his pastures;
\q there he looks for every green plant to eat.
\s5
\q
\v 9 Will the wild ox be happy to serve you?
\q Will he consent to stay by your manger?
\q
\v 10 With a rope, can you control the wild ox to plow the furrows?
\q Will he harrow the valleys for you?
\s5
\q
\v 11 Will you trust him because his strength is great?
\q Will you leave your work to him to do?
\q
\v 12 Will you depend on him to bring your grain home,
\q to gather the grain for your threshing floor?
\m
\s5
\q
\v 13 The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
\q but are they the pinions and plumage of love?
\q
\v 14 For she leaves her eggs on the earth,
\q and she lets them keep warm in the dust;
\q
\v 15 she forgets that a foot might crush them
\q or that a wild beast might trample them.
\s5
\q
\v 16 She deals roughly with her young ones as if they were not hers;
\q she does not fear that her labor might have been in vain,
\q
\v 17 because God has deprived her of wisdom
\q and has not given her any understanding.
\q
\v 18 When she runs swiftly,
\q she laughs in scorn at the horse and its rider.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 19 Have you given the horse his strength?
\q Did you clothe his neck with his flowing mane?
\q
\v 20 Have you ever made him jump like a locust?
\q The majesty of his snorting is fearsome.
\s5
\q
\v 21 He paws in might and rejoices in his strength;
\q he rushes out to meet the weapons.
\q
\v 22 He mocks fear and is not dismayed;
\q he does not turn back from the sword.
\q
\v 23 The quiver rattles against his flank,
\q along with the flashing spear and the javelin.
\s5
\q
\v 24 He swallows up ground with fierceness and rage;
\q at the trumpet's sound, he cannot stand in one place.
\q
\v 25 Whenever the trumpet sounds, he says, 'Aha!'
\q He smells the battle from far away—
\q the thunderous shouts of the commanders and the outcries.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 26 Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars,
\q that he stretches out his wings for the south?
\s5
\q
\v 27 Is it at your orders that the eagle mounts up
\q and makes his nest in high places?
\q
\v 28 He lives on cliffs and makes his home
\q on the peaks of cliffs, a stronghold.
\s5
\q
\v 29 From there he searches for victims;
\q his eyes see them from very far away.
\q
\v 30 His young also drink up blood;
\q where killed people are, there he is."
\s5
\c 40
\p
\v 1 Yahweh continued to speak to Job; he said,
\q
\v 2 "Should anyone who wishes to criticize try to correct the Almighty?
\q He who argues with God, let him answer."
\s5
\p
\v 3 Then Job answered Yahweh and said,
\q
\v 4 "See, I am insignificant; how can I answer you?
\q I put my hand over my mouth.
\q
\v 5 I spoke once, and I will not answer;
\q indeed, twice, but I will proceed no further."
\s5
\p
\v 6 Then Yahweh answered Job out of a fierce storm and said,
\q
\v 7 "Now gird up your loins like a man,
\q for I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.
\s5
\q
\v 8 Will you actually say that I am unjust?
\q Will you condemn me so you may claim you are right?
\q
\v 9 Do you have an arm like God's?
\q Can you thunder with a voice like him?
\s5
\q
\v 10 Now clothe yourself in glory and dignity;
\q array yourself in honor and majesty.
\q
\v 11 Scatter around the excess of your anger;
\q look at everyone who is proud and bring him down.
\s5
\q
\v 12 Look at everyone who is proud and bring him low;
\q trample down wicked people where they stand.
\q
\v 13 Bury them in the earth together;
\q imprison their faces in the hidden place.
\q
\v 14 Then will I also acknowledge about you
\q that your own right hand can save you.
\s5
\q
\v 15 Look now at the behemoth, which I made when I made you;
\q he eats grass like an ox.
\q
\v 16 See now, his strength is in his loins;
\q his power is in his belly's muscles.
\s5
\q
\v 17 He makes his tail like a cedar;
\q the sinews of his thighs are joined together.
\q
\v 18 His bones are like tubes of bronze;
\q his legs are like bars of iron.
\s5
\q
\v 19 He is the chief of the creatures of God.
\q Only God, who made him, can defeat him.
\q
\v 20 For the hills provide him with food;
\q the beasts of the field play nearby.
\q
\v 21 He lies under the lotus plants
\q in the shelter of the reeds, in the marshes.
\s5
\q
\v 22 The lotus plants cover him with their shade;
\q the willows of the brook are all around him.
\q
\v 23 See, if a river floods its banks, he does not tremble;
\q he is confident, though the Jordan should surge up to his mouth.
\q
\v 24 Can anyone capture him with a hook,
\q or pierce his nose through with a snare?
\s5
\c 41
\m
\q
\v 1 Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
\q Or tie up his jaws with a cord?
\q
\v 2 Can you put a rope into his nose,
\q or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
\q
\v 3 Will he make many pleas to you?
\q Will he speak soft words to you?
\s5
\q
\v 4 Will he make a covenant with you,
\q that you should take him for a servant forever?
\q
\v 5 Will you play with him as you would with a bird?
\q Will you tie him up for your servant girls?
\q
\v 6 Will the groups of fishermen bargain for him?
\q Will they divide him up to trade among the merchants?
\s5
\q
\v 7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons
\q or his head with fishing spears?
\q
\v 8 Put your hand on him just once,
\q and you will remember the battle and do it no more.
\q
\v 9 See, the hope of anyone who does that is a lie;
\q will not anyone be thrown down to the ground just by the sight of him?
\m
\s5
\q
\v 10 None is so fierce that he dare stir Leviathan up;
\q who, then, is he who can stand before me?
\q
\v 11 Who has first given anything to me in order that I should repay him?
\q Whatever is under the whole sky is mine.
\m
\q
\v 12 I will not keep silent concerning Leviathan's legs,
\q nor about the matter of his strength, nor about his graceful form.
\s5
\q
\v 13 Who can strip off his outer covering?
\q Who can penetrate his double armor?
\q
\v 14 Who can open the doors of his face—
\q ringed with his teeth, which are a terror?
\q
\v 15 his back is made up of rows of shields,
\q tight together as with a close seal.
\m
\s5
\q
\v 16 One is so near to another
\q that no air can come between them.
\q
\v 17 They are joined to each other;
\q they stick together, so that they cannot be pulled apart.
\q
\v 18 Light flashes out from his snorting;
\q his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning dawn.
\s5
\q
\v 19 Out of his mouth go burning torches,
\q sparks of fire leap out.
\q
\v 20 Out of his nostrils goes smoke
\q like a boiling pot on a fire that has been fanned to be very hot.
\q
\v 21 His breath kindles coals into flame;
\q fires go out from his mouth.
\s5
\q
\v 22 In his neck is strength,
\q and terror dances in front of him.
\q
\v 23 The folds of his flesh are joined together;
\q they are firm on him; they cannot be moved.
\q
\v 24 His heart is as hard as a stone—
\q indeed, as hard as a lower millstone.
\s5
\q
\v 25 When he raises himself up, even the gods become afraid;
\q because of fear, they draw back.
\q
\v 26 If a sword strikes him, it does nothing—
\q and neither does a spear, an arrow, or any other pointed weapon.
\q
\v 27 He thinks of iron as if it were straw,
\q and of bronze as if it were rotten wood.
\s5
\q
\v 28 An arrow cannot make him flee;
\q to him sling stones become chaff.
\q
\v 29 Clubs are regarded as straw;
\q he laughs at the whirring flight of a spear.
\q
\v 30 His lower parts are like sharp pieces of broken pottery;
\q he leaves a spreading trail in the mud as if he were a threshing sledge.
\s5
\q
\v 31 He makes the deep to foam up like a pot of boiling water;
\q he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
\q
\v 32 He makes a shining wake behind him;
\q one would think the deep had gray hair.
\s5
\q
\v 33 On earth there is no equal to him,
\q who has been made to live without fear.
\q
\v 34 He sees everything that is proud;
\q he is king over all the sons of pride."
\s5
\c 42
\p
\v 1 Then Job answered Yahweh and said,
\q
\v 2 "I know that you can do all things,
\q that no purpose of yours can be stopped.
\q
\v 3 'Who is this who without knowledge conceals plans?'
\q Indeed, I have spoken things that I did not understand,
\q things too difficult for me to understand, which I did not know about.
\s5
\q
\v 4 You said to me, 'Listen, now, and I will speak;
\q I will ask you things, and you will tell me.'
\q
\v 5 I had heard about you by my ear's hearing,
\q but now my eye sees you.
\q
\v 6 So I despise myself;
\q I repent in dust and ashes."
\s5
\p
\v 7 It came about that after he had said these words to Job, Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has done.
\v 8 Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer, so that I may not deal with you after your folly. You have not said what is right about me, as my servant Job has done."
\v 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as Yahweh had commanded them, and Yahweh accepted Job.
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\v 10 When Job prayed for his friends, Yahweh restored his fortunes. Yahweh gave him twice as much as he had possessed before.
\v 11 Then all Job's brothers, and all his sisters, and all who knew him before, came to him and ate food with him in his house. They showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the disasters that Yahweh had brought upon him, and each of them gave Job a piece of silver and a ring of gold.
\v 12 Yahweh blessed the final end of Job's life more than the first; he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.
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