1

1 A man named Job lived in Uz. He was a man of integrity! He was decent, he respected God, and he stayed away from evil.

2 He had seven sons and three daughters.

3 He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, one thousand head of cattle, and five hundred donkeys. He also had a large number of servants. In fact he was the greatest richest of all the Orientals in the East!

4 Job's sons used to take turns giving a feast. They invited many others to come, and they always invited their three sisters to join them.

5 The morning after each feast, Job would get up early to offer sacrifices for each of his children in order to purify them. He always did this because he thought that one of them might have sinned by insulting God unintentionally.

6 The day came when heavenly beings appeared before Jehovah. Satan was there among them.

7 Jehovah asked him: »What have you been doing?« Satan answered: »I have been walking here and there and roaming around the earth.«

8 »Did you notice my servant Job?« Jehovah asked. »There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. He respects me and is careful not to do anything evil.«

9 Satan replied: »Would Job respect you if he got nothing out of it?

10 »You have always protected him and his family and everything he owns. You bless everything he does. You have given him enough cattle to fill the whole country.

11 »Now suppose you take away everything he has. He will curse you to your face!«

12 »All right,« Jehovah said to Satan, »everything he has is in your power, but you must not hurt Job!« So Satan left.

13 One day when Job's children were having a feast at the home of their oldest brother,

14 a messenger came running to Job. »We were plowing the fields with the cattle,« he said, »and the donkeys were in a nearby pasture.

15 »Suddenly the Sabeans attacked and stole them all. They killed every one of your servants except me. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.«

16 Before he finished speaking, another servant came and said: »Lightning struck the sheep and the shepherds and killed them all. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.«

17 Before he finished speaking, another servant came and said: »Three bands of Chaldean raiders attacked us. They took away the camels and killed all your servants except me. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.«

18 No sooner had he finished speaking, then another servant came and said: »Your children were having a feast at the home of your oldest son,

19 when a storm swept in from the desert. It blew the house down and killed them all. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.«

20 Then Job got up and tore his clothes in grief. He shaved his head and threw himself face down on the ground.

21 He said: »I was born with nothing naked , and I will die with nothing. Jehovah gave, and now he has taken away. Blessed be the name of Jehovah!«

22 In spite of everything that had happened, Job did not sin by blaming God.

2

1 One day when the sons of God came to present themselves in front of Jehovah, Satan the Accuser came along with them.

2 Jehovah asked Satan: »Where have you come from? Satan replied to Jehovah: From wandering all over the earth.«

3 Jehovah asked Satan: »Have you thought about my servant Job? No one in the world is like him! He is a man of integrity! He is decent and he respects God. He stays away from evil. And he still holds on to his principles. You are trying to provoke me into ruining him for no reason.«

4 Satan answered Jehovah: »Skin for skin! Certainly, a man will give everything he has for his life.

5 »But stretch out your hand, and strike his flesh and bones and he will curse you to your face!«

6 Jehovah told Satan: »He is in your power, but you must spare his life!«

7 Satan left Jehovah’s presence and struck Job with painful boils from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head.

8 Job took a piece of broken pottery to scratch his sores as he sat in the ashes.

9 His wife asked him: »Are you still holding on to your principles? Curse God and die!«

10 He said to her: »You are talking like a godless fool. We accept the good that God gives us. Should we not also accept the bad?« Through all this Job did not speak sinful words.

11 Job's three friends heard about all the terrible things that happened to him. Each of them came from his home: Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah, and Zophar of Naama. They agreed they would go together to sympathize with Job and comfort him.

12 They saw him from a distance and did not even recognize him. They cried out loud and wept. Each of them tore his clothes in grief. They threw dust on their heads.

13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him because they saw that he was in such great pain.

3

1 JOB OPENED HIS MOUTH and cursed the day of his birth.

2 He said:

3 »May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said: ‘A boy is born!’«

4 »Let that day turn to darkness. May God above not care about it. Let no light shine upon it.

5 »Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it once more. May a cloud settle over it and may blackness overwhelm its light.

6 »About that night, may thick darkness seize it. May it not be included among the days of the year nor be entered in any of the months.

7 »Let the night be barren and may no shout of joy be heard in it.

8 »May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to lift up Leviathan Babylonian symbol of sadness and mourning .

9 »Let its morning stars become dark and cause it to wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn,

10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes.

11 »Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?

12 »Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed?

13 »For now I would be lying down in peace. I would be asleep and at rest.

14 »I would be with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins.

15 »I would be with rulers who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.

16 »Why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?

17 »There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest.

18 »Captives also enjoy their ease; they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout.

19 »The small and the great are there. The slave is freed from his master.

20 »Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter in heart?

21 »They long for death that does not come. They search for it more than for hidden treasure.

22 »They are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave.

23 »Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged fenced in?

24 »Sighing comes to me instead of food. My groans pour out like water.

25 »What I feared has come upon me. What I dreaded has happened to me.

26 »I have no peace. I have no quietness. I have no rest. I only have turmoil!«

4

1 ELIPHAZ THE TEMANITE REPLIED TO JOB:

2 »If someone tries to talk to you, will you become impatient? But who can keep from talking?

3 »Look, you have instructed many people. When hands were weak, you made them strong.

4 »When someone stumbled, you lifted him up with your words. When knees were weak, you gave them strength.

5 »But trouble comes to you, and you are impatient. It touches you, and you panic.

6 »Does your respect for God give you confidence and your lifetime of integrity give you hope?

7 »Now think about this: Which innocent person ever died an untimely death? Find me a decent person who has been destroyed.

8 »When I saw those who plowed wickedness and planted misery, they gathered its harvest.

9 »God destroys them with his breath and kills them with a blast of his anger.

10 »The roar of the lion and the growl of the ferocious lion are loud. The young lions have had their teeth knocked out.

11 »The old lions die without any prey to eat, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.«

12 Eliphaz of Teman continued: »I was told something secretly and heard something whispered in my ear.

13 »I am with disturbing thoughts from visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on people.

14 »Fear and trembling came over me, and all my bones shook.

15 »A spirit passed in front of me. It made my hair stand on end.

16 »Something stood there. I could not tell what it was. A vague image was in front of my eyes. I heard a soft voice say:

17 »Can any mortal be righteous to God? Can any human being be pure to his maker?

18 »You see God does not trust his own servants. He accuses his angels of making mistakes.

19 »How much more will he accuse those who live in clay houses that have their foundation in the dust? Those houses can be crushed quicker than a moth!

20 »From morning to evening, they are shattered. They will disappear forever without anyone noticing.

21 »Have the ropes of their tent been loosened? Will they die without wisdom?«

5

1 »Cry out! Is there anyone to answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 »To be sure anger kills a stubborn fool. And jealousy murders a gullible person.

3 »I have seen a stubborn fool take root and I quickly cursed his house.

4 »His children are far from help. They are crushed at the court of justice at the city gate. No one is there to rescue them.

5 »Hungry people eat what a stubborn fool gathers. They take it even from among the thorns. Thirsty people pant after his wealth.

6 »Affliction does not come from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

7 »A person is born for trouble as surely as sparks fly up from a fire.

8 »As for me, I would seek God's help and present my case to him.

9 »He does great things that we cannot understand and miracles that we cannot count.

10 »He gives rain to the earth and sends water to the fields.

11 »He sets on high the lowly people. He lifts those who mourn to safety.

12 »He keeps shrewd crafty cunning people from carrying out their plans so that they cannot do anything successfully.

13 »He catches the wise with their own craftiness. The plans of schemers are quickly halted.

14 »They meet in darkness in the daytime! In bright sunlight they grope as if it were night.

15 »He saves people from the sword slander of their mouth. He saves the needy from the power of the mighty.

16 »The poor have hope when wrongdoing shuts its mouth.

17 »Blessed is the person whom God corrects. Do not despise discipline from the Almighty.

18 »God inflicts wounds and he bandages. He strikes but his hands make you well.

19 »He will keep you safe from six troubles, and when the seventh one comes, no harm will touch you:

20 »In famine he will save you from death, and in war he will save you from the sword.

21 »You will be protected from the sharp tongue and you will not be afraid when destruction comes.

22 »You will laugh at destruction and starvation. You will not be afraid of wild beasts.

23 »You will have a binding agreement with the stones in the field, and wild animals will be at peace with you.

24 You will know peace in your tent. You will inspect your house and find nothing missing.

25 »You will find that your children are many and your descendants are like the grass of the earth.

26 »You will come to your grave at a very old age like a stack of hay in its season.

27 »We have studied all of this thoroughly! This is the way it is. Listen to it, and learn it for yourself.«

6

1 JOB ANSWERED:

2 »If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales!

3 »It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas, no wonder my words have been impetuous.

4 »The Almighty’s arrows are in me. My spirit drinks in their poison. God’s terrors set themselves against me.

5 »Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox bellow when it has fodder?

6 »Is tasteless food eaten without salt? Is there flavor in the white root of the marshmallow plant or the white of an egg ?

7 »I refuse to touch it! This repugnant food makes me ill.

8 »Oh, that I might have my request and that God would grant what I long for.

9 »Oh that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off!

10 »Then I would still have this consolation, my joy in unrelenting pain, that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 »What strength do I have, that I should wait and hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?

12 »Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh made of bronze?

13 »Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?

14 »A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes his reverence for the Almighty.

15 »But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow

16 when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow,

17 but that cease to flow in the dry season, and in the heat vanishes from their channels.

18 »Caravans turn aside from their routes. They go into the wasteland and perish.

19 »The caravans of Tema look for water. The traveling merchants of Sheba hope and wait in vain.

20 »They are distressed! They were once confident. They arrive there, only to be disappointed.

21 »Now you too have proved to be of no help. You see something dreadful and are afraid.

22 »Have I ever said: Give something on my behalf; pay a ransom for me from your wealth,

23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy, ransom me from the clutches of the ruthless’?

24 »Teach me, and I will be quiet. Show me where I have been wrong.

25 »Honest words are so painful! But what do your arguments prove?

26 »Do you mean to correct what I say? Do you treat the words of a despairing man as wind?

27 »You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend.

28 »But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face?

29 »Relent and do not be unjust. Reconsider, for my integrity is at stake.

30 »Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern destructive malice?«

7

1 »Is this not the struggle of all humanity? A person’s life is long and hard like that of a hired hand.

2 »It is like a worker who longs for the day to end, like a servant waiting to be paid.

3 »I am allotted months of futility, long and weary nights of misery.

4 »I go to bed and I think: »When will it be morning?« But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.

5 »My skin is clothed with worms and scabs. My flesh breaks open filled with pus.

6 »My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle flying back and forth. They end without hope.

7 »O God, remember that my life is but a breath. I will never again see good.

8 »You see me now but not for long. Your eyes will be on me but I will be dead.

9 »Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes; those who die will not come back.

10 »They are gone forever from their home. They will not be seen again.

11 »I will not keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. I must complain in my bitterness.

12 »Am I a sea monster that you place a guard on me?

13 »When I think: ‘My bed will comfort me, and I will try to forget my misery with sleep,

14 you shatter me with dreams. You terrify me with visions.’

15 »I would rather die of strangulation than go on and on like this.

16 »I hate my life. I do not want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for these few remaining days.

17 »What is man that you should magnify him and set your mind on him?

18 »For you examine us every morning and test us every moment.

19 »How long will you keep looking at me and let me alone till I swallow my spittle?

20 »Have I sinned? What have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why have you made me your target? Am I a burden to you?

21 »Why not just pardon 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.«

8

1 BILDAD THE SHUHITE SPOKE:

2 »How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind.

3 »Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

4 »When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the power of their sin.

5 »But if you will look to God and plead with the Almighty,

6 if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place.

7 »Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.

8 »Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned.

9 »After all we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are a mere shadow.

10 »Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

11 »Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water?

12 »While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass.

13 »Such is the destiny of all who forget God. The hope of the godless will perish.

14 »What he trusts in is fragile and what he relies on is like a spider’s web.

15 »He leans on his web, but it gives way! He clings to it, but it does not hold.

16 »He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden.

17 »It entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones.

18 »When it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says: ‘I never saw you.’

19 »Its life withers away and other plants grow from the soil.

20 »Certainly God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the hands of evildoers.

21 »He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.

22 »Your enemies will be clothed in shame. The tents of the wicked will be no more.«

9

1 JOB RESPONDED:

2 »Truly I know it is so, but how can a man be righteous before God?

3 »If one wished to argue with God, he could not answer or respond to him once in a thousand times.

4 »God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against him and prospered?

5 »He removes the mountains, and they do not know when he overturns them in his anger!

6 »He shakes the earth out of its place and its pillars tremble.

7 »He commands the sun and it does not rise! He seals off the stars.

8 »He alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

9 »He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades and the chambers of the south.

10 »He does great things beyond our understanding, yes, marvelous wonders without number.

11 »He goes by me and I do not see. He moves past and I do not perceive him.

12 »He takes away and who can hinder God? Who can say to God: ‘What are you doing?’

13 »God will not withdraw his anger. The allies of the proud lie thrown down beneath him.

14 »How then can I answer God and choose my words in order to reason with him?

15 »Though I was righteous, I could not answer him! I would beg mercy of my Judge.

16 »If I called and he answered me, I would not believe that God was listening to my voice.

17 »He crushes me with a tempest. He multiplies my wounds without cause.

18 »He will not allow me to catch my breath. Yet he fills me with bitterness.

19 »If I speak of strength and justice, he is strong! Who will appoint my day in court?

20 »Though I was righteous, my own mouth would condemn me. If I were blameless it would prove me perverse.

21 »I am blameless! Yet I do not know myself. And I despise my life.

22 »It is all one thing. Therefore I say: God destroys the blameless and the wicked.

23 »If the scourge slays suddenly, God laughs at the plight of the innocent.

24 »The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not God, who else could it be?

25 »My days are swifter than a runner! They flee away and see no good.

26 »They pass by like swift ships, like an eagle swooping on its prey.

27 »If I say: ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,

28 »I am afraid of all my suffering and I know that God will not hold me innocent.

29 »If I am condemned, why then do I labor in vain?

30 »If I wash myself with snow water, and cleanse my hands with soap,

31 »Yet you will plunge me into the pit, and my own clothes will abhor me.

32 »God is not a man, as I am: That I may answer him and we should go to court together.

33 »Nor is there any mediator between us who may lay his hand on us both.

34 »Let God remove his rod from me. Do not let dread of him terrify me.

35 »I would speak and not respect God. But I cannot do this!

10

1 »I loathe my very life. I will therefore give free rein to my complaint and speak out in my bitterness.

2 »I will say to God: ‘Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me.

3 »‘Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?

4 »‘Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a man sees?

5 »‘Are your days like those of a mortal or are your years like those of a man?

6 »‘Must you search out my faults and probe after my sin?

7 »‘You know that I am not guilty and that no one can force me from your hand!

8 »‘Your hands formed me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me?

9 »‘Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again?

10 »‘Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese,

11 clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews?

12 »‘You granted me life and showed me kindness. Your providence preserved my spirit.

13 »‘Yet this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that this was in your mind:

14 »‘If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished.

15 »‘If I am wicked, woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and aware of my affliction.

16 »‘If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me.

17 »‘You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger toward me. Your forces come against me wave upon wave.

18 »‘Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before anyone saw me.

19 »‘If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!’«

20 »Are not my days few in number? Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy

21 before I go to the place of no return, to the land of darkness and the shadow of death,

22 to the land of dark night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.«

11

1 ZOPHAR THE NAAMATHITE REPLIED:

2 »Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated?

3 »Should your idle talk reduce men to silence? Should no one rebuke you when you mock?

4 »You say to God: ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’

5 »How I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you

6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

7 »Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

8 »They are higher than the heavens. What can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave. What can you know?

9 »Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

10 »Who can oppose the one who passes by and confines you in prison and convenes a court?

11 »He recognizes deceitful men. When he sees evil, does he not take note?

12 »An empty headed man can no more become wise than a wild donkey’s colt can be born a man.

13 »Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him,

14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,

15 then you will lift up your face without shame. You will stand firm without fear.

16 »You will forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.

17 »Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning.

18 »You will be secure because there is hope. You will look about you and take your rest in safety.

19 »You will lie down and no one will make you afraid. Many will entreat your favor.

20 »But the eyes of the wicked will fail and they will not escape. Their hope will become a dying gasp.«

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1 JOB RESPONDED:

2 »Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!

3 »I have a mind as well as you! I am not inferior to you! Who does not know all these things?

4 »I have become a laughingstock to my friends! I called upon God and he answered. Yet I am a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!

5 »Men at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

6 »The tents of marauders prosper and those who provoke God are secure in what God’s hand brings them.

7 »Ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the air and they will tell you.

8 »Speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.

9 »Which of all these does not know that the hand of Jehovah has done this?

10 »In his hand are the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

11 »Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?

12 »Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?

13 »To God belong wisdom and power. Counsel and understanding are his.

14 »What he tears down cannot be rebuilt. The man he imprisons cannot be released.

15 »If he holds back the waters, there is drought. If he lets them loose, they devastate the land.

16 »To him belong strength and victory. Both deceived and deceivers are his.

17 »He leads counselors away stripped and makes fools of judges.

18 »He takes off the bonds put on by kings and ties a belt around their waist.

19 »He leads priests away stripped and overthrows men long established.

20 »He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.

21 »He pours out contempt upon nobles and disarms the mighty.

22 »He uncovers the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light.

23 »He makes nations great, and destroys them. He enlarges nations, and disperses them.

24 »He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason and understanding. He sends them wandering through a pathless wilderness.

25 »They grope in darkness without light. He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

13

1 »My eyes have seen all this and my ears have heard and understood it.

2 »I know what you know. I am not inferior to you!

3 »But I want to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God.

4 »You are smearing me with lies. As doctors you are worthless, all of you!

5 »If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

6 »Hear my argument. Listen to the plea of my lips.

7 »Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf? Will you speak deceitfully for him?

8 »Will you show him partiality? Will you argue the case for God?

9 »Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive men?

10 »He would rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality.

11 »Would not his excellence terrify you? Would not the dread of him fall on you?

12 »Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes. Your defenses are defenses of clay.

13 »Keep silent and let me speak! Then let come to me what may.

14 »Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands?

15 »Though he put me to death, yet I will hope in him. I will defend my ways before him.

16 »Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless man would dare come before him!

17 »Listen carefully to my words. Let your ears take in Pay attention to what I say.

18 »Now that I have prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated.

19 »Can anyone bring charges against me? If so, I will be silent and die.

20 »Only grant me these two things, O God, and then I will not hide from you:

21 Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors.

22 »Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak, and you reply.

23 How many wrongs and sins have I committed? Show me my transgressions and my sin.

24 »Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?

25 »Will you torment a leaf driven two and fro? Will you chase after dry chaff?

26 »You write down bitter things against me and make me inherit the sins of my youth.

27 »You fasten my feet in shackles. You keep close watch on all my paths by putting marks on the soles of my feet.

28 »So man wastes away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths.

14

1 »Man born of woman, lives a short life that is full of trouble.

2 »He springs up like a flower and fades away. He is like a fleeting shadow and does not endure.

3 »Do you look on such a person? Will you bring him before you for judgment?

4 »Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!

5 »Man’s days are determined. You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.

6 »So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired man.

7 »At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.

8 »Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil,

9 yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth growth like a plant.

10 »On the other hand man dies and is laid low. He breathes his last and is no more!

11 »Just like water that disappears from the sea or a riverbed that becomes parched and dry,

12 so men lie down and do not rise. Until the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep.

13 »If only you would hide me in the grave Sheol and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set a time for me and then remember me!

14 »If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my change release to come.

15 »You will call and I will answer you! You will long for the creature your hands have made.

16 »Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin.

17 »My transgressions will be sealed up in a bag. You will cover over my sin.

18 »As a mountain erodes and crumbles and as a rock is moved from its place,

19 as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy man’s hope.

20 »You overpower him once and for all, and he is gone! You change his countenance and send him away.

21 »His sons are honored and he does not know it. They are brought low and he does not see it.

22 »He feels but the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself.«

15

1 ELIPHAZ THE TEMANITE REPLIED:

2 »Should a wise man answer with empty notions or be filled with the hot east wind?

3 »Would he reason with useless words, with speeches that have no value?

4 »You even undermine piety and hinder prayer to God.

5 »Your sin inspires your mouth. You choose the tongue of the crafty.

6 »Your own mouth condemns you, not mine! Your own lips testify against you.

7 »Are you the first man ever born? Were you created before the hills?

8 »Have you heard God’s council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

9 »What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have?

10 »The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father.

11 »Are God’s consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you?

12 »Why does your heart carry you away? Why do your eyes flash?

13 »Why do you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?

14 »What is man, that he could be pure? Or he who is born of woman, that he could be righteous?

15 »If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,

16 how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks up evil like water!

17 »Listen to me and I will explain to you what I have seen.

18 »What have wise men declared, hiding nothing received from their fathers,

19 to whom alone the land was given when no alien passed among them?

20 »All his days the wicked man suffers torment and the ruthless through all the years stored up for him.

21 »Terrifying sounds fill his ears. When all seems well, marauders attack him.

22 »He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is marked for the sword.

23 »He wanders about as food for vultures and he knows the day of darkness is at hand.

24 »Distress and anguish fill him with terror. They overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack.

25 »He shakes his fist at God and vaunts brags shows off himself against the Almighty,

26 »He defiantly charges against him with a thick, strong shield.

27 »His face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh.

28 »He will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble.

29 »He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land.

30 »He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.

31 »Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless. He will get nothing in return.

32 »Before his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish.

33 »He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.

34 »The company of the godless will be barren. And fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes.

35 »They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb fashions deceit.«

16

1 JOB ANSWERED:

2 »I have heard many such things. You are all miserable comforters!

3 »Is there no limit to windy words? Or what provokes you that you answer?

4 »I too could speak like you, if I were in your place. I could compose words against you. And I would shake my head at you.

5 »I could strengthen you with my mouth. The solace of my lips would relieve your pain.

6 »If I speak, my pain is not lessened. If I hold back how am I eased?

7 »He has exhausted me. You have lain waste all my company.

8 »You have shriveled me up. It has become a witness. And my leanness rises up against me. It testifies to my face.

9 »His anger has torn me and hunted me down. He has gnashed at me with his teeth. My adversary glares at me.

10 »They have gaped at me with their mouth. They have slapped me on the cheek with contempt. They have massed themselves against me.

11 »God hands me over to ruffians. He tosses me into the hands of the wicked.

12 »I was at ease, but he shattered me. He has grabbed me by the neck and has shaken me to pieces. He has also set me up as his target.

13 »His arrows surround me. Without mercy he splits my kidneys open. He pours out my gall on the ground.

14 »He breaks through me with breach after breach. He runs at me like a warrior.

15 »I have sewed sackcloth over my skin and thrust my horn strength in the dust.

16 »My face is flushed from weeping. The shadow of death is on my eyelids.

17 »There is no violence in my hands. My prayer is pure.

18 »O earth, do not cover my blood, And let my cry have no resting place.

19 »Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high.

20 My friends are my scoffers. My eye weeps to God.

21 »O that a man might plead with God As a man with his neighbor!

22 »For when a few years are past, I shall go the way of no return.

17

1 »My spirit is broken. My days are extinguished. The grave is waiting for me.

2 »Mockers surrounded me. My eye dwells on their provocation.

3 »Please guarantee my bail. Who else will guarantee it with a handshake?

4 »You close their minds and hearts so that they cannot understand. That is why you will not honor them.

5 »Whoever turns in friends to get their property should have his children's eyesight fail.

6 »Now he has made me a laughingstock for many people. Now they spit in my face.

7 »My eyes are dim because of grief. My limbs are like a shadow.

8 »This shocks decent people. The innocent are against the godless people.

9 »Yet, the righteous person clings to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

10 »But now, you must come and try again! I will not find one wise man among you.

11 »My days are passing by. My plans are broken. My dreams are shattered.

12 »You say that night is day. Light has nearly become darkness.

13 »Should I look for the grave as my home and make my bed in the darkness?

14 »If I say to the pit: You are my father! And to the worm: You are my mother and sister!

15 »Where is my hope? Can you see any hope left in me?

16 »Will hope go down with me to the gates of the grave? Will my hope rest with me in the dust?«

18

1 BILDAD THE SHUHITE ANSWERED:

2 »When will you end these speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk.

3 »Why are we regarded as animals and considered stupid in your sight?

4 »You tear yourself to pieces in your anger! Is the earth to be abandoned for your sake? Or must the rocks be moved from their place?

5 »The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. The flame of his fire shall not shine.

6 »The light in his tent becomes dark. The lamp beside him will be put out.

7 »The vigor of his step is weakened. His own schemes will bring his downfall.

8 »His feet cast him into a net and he wanders into its mesh.

9 »A trap seizes him by the heel and a snare holds him fast.

10 »A noose is hidden for him on the ground and a trap lies in his path.

11 »Terrors startle him on every side and chase him at his heels.

12 »Calamity hungers for him and disaster catch him when he falls.

13 »It eats away parts of his skin. Death’s firstborn devours his limbs.

14 »He is torn from the security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors.

15 »Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.

16 »His roots dry up below and his branches wither above.

17 »The memory of him perishes from the earth. He has no name in the street.

18 »He is driven from light into darkness and is banished from the world.

19 »He has no offspring or descendants among his people, no survivor where once he lived.

20 »Men of the west are appalled at him. Men of the east are seized with horror.

21 »This is the dwelling of an evil man! This is the place of one who does not know God!«

19

1 JOB REPLIED:

2 »How long will you torment me and depress me with words?

3 »You have insulted me ten times now. You are not even ashamed of hurting me.

4 »Even if it were true that I made a mistake without realizing it, my mistake would affect only me.

5 »If you are trying to make yourselves look better than me by using my disgrace as an argument against me,

6 then I want you to know that God has wronged me and surrounded me with his net.

7 »Yes I cry for Help! I am being attacked! But I get no response. I call for help, but there is no justice.

8 »God has blocked my path so that I cannot go on. He has made my path dark.

9 »He stripped me of my honor. He took the crown off my head.

10 »He beats me down on every side until I am gone. He uproots my hope like a tree.

11 »He is very angry with me. He considers me his enemy.

12 »His troops assemble against me. They build a ramp to attack me. They camp around my tent.

13 »My brothers stay far away from me. My friends are complete strangers to me.

14 »My relatives and my closest friends have stopped coming. My houseguests have forgotten me.

15 »My female slaves consider me to be a stranger. I am like a foreigner to them.

16 »I call my slave, but he does not answer, even when I beg him.

17 »I am repulsive to my wife and my children think I stink.

18 »Even young children despise me. If I stand up, they make fun of me.

19 »All my closest friends are disgusted with me. Those I love have turned against me.

20 »My bones cling to my skin. I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth with almost nothing .

21 »Have pity on me, my friends! Have pity on me because God's hand has struck me down.

22 »Why do you pursue me as God does? Why are you never satisfied with my flesh?

23 »I wish now my words were written. I wish they were inscribed on a scroll.

24 »I wish they were engraved forever on a rock with an iron stylus and lead.

25 »I know that my redeemer lives, and in later days he will take his stand on the earth.

26 »Even after my skin is gone and this body destroyed, I will see God in my own flesh.

27 »I will see him with my own eyes, not with someone else's. My heart fails inside me!

28 »You say: ‘We will persecute him!’ The root of the problem is found in him.

29 »Fear the sword and death, because your anger is punishable by the sword. Then you will know there is a judge.«

20

1 ZOPHAR THE NAAMATHITE SPEAKS:

2 »My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer for I am greatly disturbed.

3 »I hear a rebuke that dishonors me. Therefore my understanding inspires me to reply.

4 »Do you not know from of old, ever since man was placed on the earth?

5 »The success of the wicked is brief and the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

6 »Though his pride reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds,

7 he will perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him will say: Where is he?

8 »He flies away like a dream banished like a vision of the night. He cannot be found!

9 »The eye that saw him will not see him again. His place home will look on him no more.

10 »His children must make amends to the poor. He must give back his wealth.

11 »The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust.

12 »Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,

13 though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth,

14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him.

15 »He will spit out the riches he swallowed. God will make his stomach vomit them up.

16 »He will suck the poison of serpents. The fangs of an adder cobra will kill him.

17 »He will not look upon the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

18 »What he toiled for he must give back uneaten. He will not enjoy the profit from his trading.

19 »For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor and left them destitute. He has violently seized houses he did not build.

20 »He will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure.

21 »There is nothing left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure.

22 »Distress will overtake him in the midst of his plenty. The full force of misery will come upon him.

23 »With his belly full, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows upon him.

24 »Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.

25 »He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him.

26 »Total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.

27 »The heavens will expose his guilt. The earth will rise up against him!

28 »A flood will carry off his house. Rushing waters will wash away his possessions on the day of God’s wrath.

29 »This is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.«

21

1 JOB ANSWERED:

2 »Listen carefully to my words, and let this be your consolation.

3 »Bear with me, and I will speak. Then after I have spoken, mock on.

4 »As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals? Why should I not be impatient?

5 »Look at me, and be appalled, and lay your hand upon your mouth.

6 »When I think of it I am dismayed, and trembling seizes my flesh.

7 »Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and become mighty in power?

8 »Their children are established in their presence, and their offspring before their eyes.

9 »Their houses are safe and without fear, and no rod of God is upon them.

10 »Their bull breeds without fail and their cow calves and never miscarries.

11 »They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance around.

12 »They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.

13 »They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to the grave.

14 »They say to God: ‘Leave us alone! We do not desire to know your ways.’

15 »Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? And what do we gain if we pray to him?

16 »Is their prosperity indeed their own achievement? The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.

17 »How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does calamity come upon them? How often does God distribute pains and sorrow in his anger?

18 »How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away?

19 »You say: ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let God repay them so they may know.

20 »Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

21 »For what do they care for their household after them, when the number of their months is cut off in death?

22 »Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those that are on high?

23 »One dies in full prosperity, being wholly at ease and secure.

24 »His loins are full of milk and the marrow of his bones is moist.

25 »Another dies an angry being, never having tasted of good.

26 »They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them.

27 »Oh, I know your thoughts, and your schemes to wrong me.

28 »For you say: ‘Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’

29 »Have you not asked those who travel the roads, and do you not accept their testimony.

30 »They say the wicked are spared in the day of calamity, and are rescued in the day of wrath?

31 »Who declares their way to their face, and who repays them for what they have done?

32 »When they are carried to the grave, a watch is kept over their tomb.

33 »The clods of the valley are sweet to them; everyone will follow after, and those who went before are innumerable.

34 »How then will you comfort me with empty and futile words? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.«

22

1 ELIPHAZ THE TEMANITE ANSWERED:

2 »Can a mortal man be of use to God? Can even the wisest be of service to him?

3 »Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous? Is it profitable to him if you make your ways blameless?

4 »Is it for your reverence that he reproves you, and enters into judgment with you?

5 »Is not your wickedness great? There is no end to your iniquities.

6 »You have indeed exacted pledges from your family for no reason, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

7 »You have given no water to the weary to drink. You have withheld bread from the hungry.

8 »The powerful possess the land, and the favored live in it.

9 »You have sent widows away empty-handed. You crush the arms of the orphans.

10 »Therefore snares are around you, and sudden terror overwhelms you!

11 »There is darkness so you cannot see. A flood of water covers you.

12 »Is not God high in the heavens? See the highest stars, how eminent they are!

13 »So you say: ‘What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?

14 »‘Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see, and he walks on the dome of the heavens.’«

15 »Will you keep to the old way that the wicked have trod?

16 »They were snatched away before their time. Their foundation is washed away by flood.

17 »They said to God: ‘Leave us alone.’ They asked: ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’

18 »Yet he filled their houses with good things. Yet the plans of the wicked are repugnant.

19 »The righteous see it and are glad and the innocent laugh them to scorn.

20 »They say: ‘Our adversaries are cut off and the fire consumed what they left.’

21 »Agree with God, and be at peace. In this way good will come to you.

22 »Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.

23 »If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. You must remove unrighteousness from your tents,

24 »If you treat gold like dust, and gold of Ophir like the stones of the torrent-bed,

25 and if the Almighty is your gold and your precious silver,

26 you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and lift up your face to God.

27 »You will pray to him and he will hear you! You will pay your vows.

28 »You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you. The light of God’s favor will shine on your ways.

29 »When others are humiliated, you say it is pride for he saves the humble.

30 »He will deliver even those who are guilty. They will escape because of the cleanness of your hands.«

23

1 JOB REPLIED:

2 »Even today my complaint is bitter rebellion. God’s hand is heavy despite my groaning.

3 »Oh that I knew where I might find him that I might come to his seat!

4 »I would present my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.

5 »I would learn what he would answer and perceive what he would say to me.

6 »Would He contend with me using his great power? No, surely He would pay attention to me.

7 »There the upright would reason with him. I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

8 »Behold, I go forward but He is not there. I go backward, but I cannot perceive him.

9 »He acts on the left and I cannot behold. He turns on the right and I cannot see him.

10 »But He knows the way I walk. He has tried me. I shall come forth as gold.

11 »My foot has held fast to his path. I have kept his way and not turned aside.

12 »I have not departed from the command of his lips. I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

13 »But he is unchangeable and who can turn him? He does what he wants to do.

14 »He performs what is appointed for me. He is mindful of many such matters.

15 »Therefore, I would be dismayed at his presence. I stand in awe of him.

16 »God has made my heart faint. The Almighty has dismayed shocked me.

17 »But I am not silenced by the darkness, Nor deep gloom that covers me.

24

1 »Why does the Almighty not keep time? Why do those who know him never see his days?

2 »The wicked remove landmarks. They seize flocks and pasture them.

3 »They drive away the donkey of the orphan. They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

4 »They force the needy to yield the road. The poor of the earth all hide themselves.

5 »Like wild donkeys in the desert they go out to their toil. They search in the wasteland food for their young.

6 »They reap in a field not their own and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked.

7 »They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.

8 »They are wet with the rain of the mountains. They cling to the rock in search of shelter.

9 »There are those who snatch the orphan child from the breast. They take as a pledge the infant of the poor.

10 »The needy go about naked, without clothing; though hungry, they carry the sheaves.

11 »Between their terraces they press out oil. They tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst.

12 »The dying groan from the city. The throat of the wounded cries for help. Yet God pays no attention to their prayer.

13 »There are those who rebel against the light. They are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths.

14 »The murderer rises at dusk to kill the poor and needy, and in the night is like a thief.

15 »The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight. He says: ‘No eye will see me.’ Then he disguises his face.

16 »In the dark they dig through houses. By day they shut themselves up. They do not know the light.

17 »For deep darkness is morning to all of them. They are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.

18 »Swift are they on the face of the waters. Their portion in the land is cursed! No treader turns toward their vineyards.

19 »Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters! In the same way the grave takes those who have sinned.

20 »The womb forgets them. The worm finds them sweet. They are no longer remembered. Wickedness is broken like a tree.

21 »They harm the childless woman, and do no good to the widow.

22 »Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power and they rise up when they despair of life.

23 »He gives them security and they are supported. His eyes are upon their ways.

24 »They are exalted a little while, and then are gone. They wither and fade like everything gathered up. They are cut off like the heads of grain.

25 »If it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and show that there is nothing in what I say?«

25

1 BILDAD THE SHUHITE REPLIED:

2 »Rulership and awe belong to God. He establishes order in the heights of heaven.

3 »Can his forces be numbered? Upon whom does his light not rise?

4 »How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

5 »If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes,

6 »How much less man, who is but a maggot and a worm!«

26

1 JOB ANSWERED:

2 »How you have helped one who has no power! How you have assisted the arm that has no strength!

3 »How you have counseled one who has no wisdom, and given much good advice!

4 »With whose assistance have you uttered words? Whose spirit has come forth from you?

5 »The shades of the dead tremble underneath the waters and their inhabitants.

6 »The grave is naked before God, and destruction has no covering.

7 »He stretches out the northern sky over empty space, and hangs the earth upon nothing.

8 »He wraps up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud does not burst by them.

9 »He covers the face of the full moon, and spreads his cloud over it.

10 »He has described a circle on the face of the waters, at the boundary between light and darkness.

11 »The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astounded at his rebuke.

12 »He stills the sea with his power. He struck down Rahab with his understanding.

13 »By his wind the heavens were made fair. His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

14 »These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear from him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?

27

1 JOB CONTINUED:

2 »As God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty? Who has made me taste bitterness?

3 »As long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will not utter deceit.

5 »I will not admit you are in the right. Until I die, I will not deny my integrity!

6 »I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it! My conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

7 »May my enemies be like the wicked, my adversaries like the unjust!

8 »What hope doe the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?

9 »Does God listen to his cry when distress comes upon him?

10 »Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?

11 »I will teach you about the power of God; the ways of the Almighty I will not conceal.

12 »You have all seen this yourselves. Why then this meaningless talk?

13 »Here is the fate God accords the wicked. This is the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:

14 »No mater how many his children, their fate is the sword. His offspring will never have enough to eat.

15 »The plague will bury those who survive him. Their widows will not weep for them.

16 »Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay,

17 what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver.

18 »The house he builds is like a moth’s cocoon, like a hut made by a watchman.

19 »He lies down wealthy and wakes up and all is gone.

20 Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest snatches him away in the night.

21 »The east wind carries him off. He is gone and it sweeps him out of his place.

22 »It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power.

23 »Men will clap their hands in derision ridicule and hiss him out of his place.

28

1 »There is a place where silver is mined and a place where gold is refined.

2 »Iron is taken from the ground, and rocks are melted for their copper.

3 »Humans bring an end to darkness. He searches the black rock to the limit of the gloom.

4 »They open up a mineshaft far from civilization, where no one has set foot. In this shaft men dangle and swing back and forth.

5 »Above the ground food grows. Beneath it the food decays as if it were burned by fire.

6 »That place's stones are sapphire. Its dust contains gold.

7 »No bird of prey knows the way to it. No hawk's eye has ever seen it.

8 »No proud beast has ever walked on it. No ferocious lion has ever passed over it.

9 »Humans exert their power on the flinty rocks and overturn mountains at their base.

10 »They cut out mineshafts in the rocks. Their eyes see every precious thing.

11 »They explore the sources of rivers to bring hidden treasures to light.

12 »Where can wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding?

13 »No man knows where it is. It cannot be found in this world of the living.

14 »The deep ocean says: ‘It is not in me.’ The sea proclaims: ‘Not in me either!’

15 »Gold will not buy it; neither will any amount of silver.

16 »It cannot be bought with the gold from Ophir or with precious onyx or sapphire.

17 »Neither gold nor crystal can equal its value. Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.

18 »Wisdom is more valuable than gems.

19 »Topaz from Ethiopia cannot equal its value. It cannot be bought for any amount of pure gold.

20 »Where does wisdom come from? Where does understanding live?

21 »It is hidden from the eyes of all the living, concealed from the birds in the air.

22 »Destruction and Death say: ‘We heard a rumor about it.’

23 »God understands the way to it. He knows where it lives

24 »He can see to the ends of the earth and observe everything under heaven.

25 »When he gave the wind its force and measured the water in the sea,

26 when he made rules for the rain and set paths for the thunderstorms,

27 then he saw it and announced it. He confirmed it and examined it.

28 »To man he said: ‘Respect for Jehovah is wisdom! To stay away from evil is understanding.’«

29

1 JOB UTTERED THESE WORDS:

2 »Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me;

3 when his lamp shone over my head, and by his light I walked through darkness.

4 »I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent.

5 The Almighty was still with me, and my children were all around me.

6 »My steps were washed with milk and the rock poured out streams of oil for me!

7 »When I went out to the gate of the city, when I took my seat in the square,

8 the young men saw me and withdrew, and the aged rose up and stood.

9 »The nobles refrained from talking, and laid their hands on their mouths.

10 »The voices of princes were hushed. Their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

11 »When the ear heard, it commended me, and when the eye saw, it approved.

12 »This is because I delivered the poor who cried, and the orphan who had no helper.

13 »The blessing of the wretched came upon me. I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

14 »I put on righteousness and it clothed me. My justice was like a robe and a turban.

15 »I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame.

16 »I was a father to the needy! I championed the cause of the stranger.

17 »I broke the fangs of the unrighteous. I made them drop their prey from their teeth.

18 »Then I thought: I shall die in my nest house , and I shall multiply my days like the grains of sand.

19 »My roots spread out to the waters, with the dew all night on my branches.

20 »My glory was fresh within me, and my bow ever new in my hand.

21 »They listened to me, and waited! They kept quiet to hear my counsel.

22 »After I spoke they did not speak again, and my word dropped upon them like dew.

23 »They waited for me as for the rain. They opened their mouths as for the spring rain.

24 »I smiled on them when they had no confidence. They did not extinguish the light of my countenance.

25 »I chose their way, and sat as chief. I lived like a king among his troops, like one who comforts mourners.

30

1 »Men younger than I am make fun of me now! Their fathers have always been so worthless that I would not let them help dogs guard sheep.

2 »They were a bunch of worn-out men, too weak to do any work for me.

3 »Shriveled up from need and hunger, they gnaw at the dry and barren ground during the night.

4 »They pick mallow salt herb from the underbrush, and the roots of the broom plant are their food.

5 »They are driven from the community. People shout at them in the same way they shout at thieves.

6 »They have to live in dry riverbeds the clefts of the valleys wadis , in holes in the ground, and among rocks.

7 »They howl in bushes and huddle together under thorn bushes.

8 »Godless fools and worthless people are forced out of the land with whips.

9 »Now they make fun of me with songs. I have become a joke to them.

10 »Since they consider me disgusting, they keep their distance from me and don't hesitate to spit in my face.

11 »Because God has untied my cord and has made me suffer, they are no longer restrained in my presence.

12 »They have attacked me on my right side like a mob. They trip my feet and then prepare ways to destroy me.

13 »They break up my path, they promote my calamity and no one restrains them!

14 »As through a wide breach they come. Amid the crash they roll on.

15 »Terrorists turn on me; my honor is pursued as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

16 »Now I am poured out, the days of affliction have taken hold of me.

17 »The night racks my bones, and the pain that eats at me takes no rest.

18 »With violence it seizes my garment. It binds me about like the collar of my tunic.

19 »God has cast me into the mire. I have become like dust and ashes.

20 »I cry to you and you do not answer me! I stand, and you do not heed me.

21 »You have turned cruel to me. With the might of your hand you appose me.

22 »You lift me up on the wind, you make me ride on it, and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.

23 »Yes, I know that you will bring me to death, to the house appointed for all living.

24 »Does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, Or in his disaster cry out for help?

25 »Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was I not grieved for the needy?

26 »When I expected good evil came. When I waited for light darkness came.

27 »I am seething within and cannot relax! Days of affliction confront me.

28 »I go about mourning without comfort. I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

29 »I am a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.

30 »My skin grows black on me and my bones burn with fever.

31 »Therefore my harp is turned to mourning, and my flute to the sound of those who weep.

31

1 »I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.

2 »What is man’s lot from God above, his heritage from the Almighty on high?

3 »Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?

4 »Does he not see my ways and count my every step?

5 »If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit

6 »let God weigh me on honest scales and he will know that I am blameless.

7 »If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled,

8 then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.

9 »If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

10 then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her.

11 »For that would have been shameful a crime , a sin to be judged.

12 »That would be a fire consuming down to destruction, and it would burn all my harvest to the root.

13 »If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves, when they brought a complaint against me

14 what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?

15 »Did the one who made me in the womb make them? And did that one fashion us in the womb?

16 »If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

17 »If I have eaten my morsel alone, and the orphan has not eaten from it,

18 for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow.

19 »If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or a poor person without covering,

20 whose loins have not blessed me, and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

21 if I have raised my hand against the orphan, because I saw I had supporters at the gate;

22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket.

23 »I was in terror of destruction from God and I could not face his majesty.

24 »If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence,

25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much;

26 if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor,

27 and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand,

28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have denied God above.

29 »If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook them,

30 »I have not let my mouth sin by asking for their lives with a curse.

31 »If those of my tent ever said: ‘Who is not satisfied with his food?«

32 »The stranger has not lodged in the street for I have opened my doors to the traveler.

33 »If I have concealed my transgressions as others do like Adam , by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

34 because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silent and did not go out of doors.

35 »Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me! Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!

36 »Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me like a crown.

37 »I would give him an account of all my steps. Like a prince I would approach him.

38 »If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together.

39 If I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its owners;

40 let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley.« The words of Job are ended, JOB QUITE TALKING.

32

1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

2 Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry with Job because he justified himself rather than God.

3 He was angry also with Job’s three friends because they found no answer, though they had declared Job to be in the wrong.

4 Elihu waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he.

5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he became angry.

6 Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered: »I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you.

7 »I said: ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’

8 »But truly it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that makes for understanding.

9 »It is not the old that are wise, nor the aged that understand what is right.

10 »Therefore I tell you: ‘Listen to me! Let me also declare my opinion.’

11 »Listen! I waited for your words. I listened for your wise sayings, while you determined what to say.

12 »I gave you my attention, but there was in fact no one that disproved Job, no one among you that answered his words.

13 »Yet do not say: ‘We have found wisdom; God may vanquish him, not a human.’

14 »He has not directed his words against me. I will not answer him with your speeches.

15 »They are dismayed and they answer no more. They do not have a word to say.

16 »Should I wait, because they do not speak, because they stand there, and answer no more?

17 »I also will give my answer. I also will declare my opinion.

18 »For I am full of words but the spirit within me constrains me.

19 »My heart is indeed like wine that has no vent. It is like new wineskins and is ready to burst.

20 »I must speak so that I may find relief. I must open my lips and answer.

21 »I will not show partiality to any person or use flattery toward anyone.

22 »I do not know how to flatter or my Maker would soon put an end to me!

33

1 »Listen to my words Job. Pay attention to everything I say.

2 »I am about to open my mouth. My words are on the tip of my tongue.

3 »My words come from an upright heart! My lips sincerely speak what I know.

4 »The Spirit of God has made me. The Breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5 »Answer me then, if you can, and prepare yourself to confront me.

6 »I am just like you before God. I too have been taken from clay!

7 »No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you.

8 »You have said in my hearing, I heard the very words:

9 »I am pure and without sin! I am clean and free from guilt.

10 »Yet God has found fault with me. He considers me his enemy!

11 »He fastens my feet in shackles and he keeps close watch on all my paths.

12 »But I tell you, Job, in this you are not right, for God is greater than man.

13 »Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man’s words?

14 »God does speak, now one-way and then another, though man may not perceive it.

15 »In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds,

16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,

17 that turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride.

18 »It is to preserve him from the pit and keep his life from perishing by the sword.

19 »On the other hand a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones.

20 »His very being finds food repulsive and he loathes the choicest meal.

21 »His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.

22 »He draws near to the pit and to the messengers of death.

23 »Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,

24 to be gracious to him and say: ‘Spare him from going down to the pit. I have found a ransom for him!’

25 »His flesh is renewed like a child’s. It is restored as in the days of his youth.

26 »He prays to God and finds favor with him. He sees God’s face and shouts for joy! God restores him to his righteous state.

27 »He comes to men and says: ‘I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved.’

28 »He redeemed me from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.

29 »God does all these things to a man twice, even three times.

30 »He turns him back from the pit that the light of life may shine on him.

31 »Pay attention, Job, and listen to me! Be silent, and I will speak.

32 »If you have anything to say answer me. Speak up, for I want you to be cleared.

33 »But if not, then listen to me. Be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.

34

1 ELIHU SPOKE MORE:

2 »Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know.

3 »For the ear tests words like the palate tastes food.

4 »Let us choose what is right. Let us determine among ourselves what is good.

5 »Job has said: ‘I am innocent, and God has taken away my right.

6 »‘In spite of being right I am counted a liar. My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’

7 »Who is there like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water?

8 »Who goes in company with evildoers and walks with the wicked?

9 »He has said: ‘It profits one nothing to take delight in God.’

10 »Hear me, you who have sense, far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

11 »According to their deeds he will repay them. According to their ways he will make it befall them.

12 »Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

13 »Who gave God authority over the earth? Who has laid on him the entire world?

14 »If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to himself his spirit and his breath,

15 »All flesh would perish and man would return to dust.

16 »But if you understand, hear this; Listen to the sound of my words.

17 »Shall one who hates justice rule? And will you condemn the righteous Mighty One?

18 »Should anyone even say to a king: You good-for-nothing scoundrel! Or to nobles, you wicked people!

19 »The one who is righteous and mighty does not grant special favors to princes or prefer important people to poor people because his hands made them all.

20 »They die suddenly in the middle of the night. People have seizures and pass away. Mighty people are taken away but not by human hands.

21 »God's eyes are on a person's ways. He sees all his steps.

22 There is no darkness or deep shadow where troublemakers can hide.

23 »He does not have to set a time for a person in order to bring him to divine judgment.

24 »He breaks mighty people into pieces without examining them and puts others in their places.

25 »He knows what they do, so he overthrows them at night, and they are crushed.

26 »In return for their evil, he strikes them in public.

27 »This is because they turned away from following him. They did not consider any of his ways.

28 »They forced the poor to cry out to him, and he hears the cry of those who suffer.

29 »If God decided to do nothing at all, no one could criticize him. If he hid his face refused to assist , we would be helpless.

30 »There would be nothing that nations could do to keep godless oppressors from ruling them.

31 »Job, have you confessed your sins to God and promised not to sin again?

32 »Have you asked God to show you your faults, and have you agreed to stop doing evil?

33 »Since you object to what God does, can you expect him to do what you want? The decision is yours, not mine. Tell us now what you think.

34 »Any sensible person will agree; and the wise that hear me will say

35 that Job is speaking from ignorance and that nothing he says make sense.

36 »Think through everything that Job says. You will see that he talks like an evil man.

37 »To his sins he adds rebellion and in front of us all he mocks God.

35

1 ELIHU CONTINUED:

2 »Do you think this to be just? You say: ‘I am in the right before God.’

3 »If you ask: ‘What advantage do I have? How am I better off than if I had sinned?’

4 »I will answer you and your friends with you.

5 Look at the heavens, observe the clouds and see. They are higher than you.

6 »If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?

7 »If you are righteous, what do you give to him? What does he receive from your hand?

8 »Your wickedness affects others like you, and your righteousness, other human beings.

9 »Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out. They call for help because of the arm of the mighty.

10 »However no one says: ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives strength in the night?’

11 »Who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?

12 »They cry out, but he does not answer, because of the pride of evildoers.

13 »Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it.

14 »How much less when you say that you do not see him, that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him!

15 »Because his anger does not punish, and he does not greatly heed transgression,

16 »Job opens his mouth in empty talk. He multiplies words without knowledge.«

36

1 ELIHU TALKS EVEN MORE:

2 »Bear with me a little longer and I will show you that there is more to be said in God’s behalf.

3 »I get my knowledge from afar. I ascribe justice to my Maker.

4 »Be assured that my words are not false! One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

5 »God is mighty, but does not despise men. He is mighty in strength of understanding.

6 »He does not keep the wicked alive but gives the afflicted their rights.

7 »He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous. He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.

8 »But if men are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction,

9 he tells them what they have done, that they have sinned arrogantly.

10 »He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil.

11 »If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.

12 »However if they do not obey, they will perish by the sword and die without knowledge.

13 »The godless in heart harbor resentment. Even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.

14 »They die in their youth, among male prostitutes of the shrines.

15 »But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.

16 »He would bring you out of the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.

17 »Now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked. Judgment and justice have taken hold of you.

18 »Be careful that no one entices you by riches. Do not let a large bribe turn you aside.

19 »Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts sustain you so you would not be in distress?

20 »Do not desire the night, to drag people away from their homes.

21 »Do not turn to evil. You seem to prefer evil to affliction.

22 »God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him?

23 »Who has prescribed his ways for him, or said to him: You have done wrong?

24 »Remember to extol his work, which men have praised in song.

25 »All mankind has seen it. Men gaze on it from afar.

26 »How great is God! He is beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.

27 »He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams.

28 »The clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind.

29 »Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion?

30 « See how he scatters his lightning, bathing the depths of the sea.

31 »This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance.

32 »He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.

33 »His thunder announces the coming storm. Even the cattle make known its approach.

37

1 »The storm makes my heart beat wildly.

2 »Listen! All of you listen to the voice of God, to the thunder that comes from his mouth.

3 »He sends the lightning across the sky to the ends of the earth.

4 »He thunders with the roar of his voice! It is like the majestic sound of thunder, and all the while the lightning flashes.

5 »At God's command amazing things happen, wonderful things that we cannot understand.

6 »He says to the snow: ‘Fall on the earth.’ He says to the rain: ‘Be strong.’

7 »He seals the hand of every man and all men may know His work.

8 »Then the beast goes into its lair. It remains in its den.

9 »Out of the south come the storm, and out of the north the cold.

10 »Ice is made from the breath of God. It freezes the expanse of the waters.

11 »He loads the thick cloud with moisture and disperses with lighting.

12 »They swirl about on the face of the inhabited earth. They do whatever God commands.

13 »He causes it to happen for correction, for his land and for his loving kindness.

14 « Listen to this, O Job, Stand and consider the wonders of God.

15 »Do you know how God establishes them? Do you know how he makes the lightning?

16 »Do you know about the layers of thick clouds, the wonders of one perfect in knowledge?

17 »You whose garments are hot, when the land is still because of the south wind?

18 »Have you, like him, spread out the skies, strong as a cast metal mirror?

19 »Teach us what we should say to him! We can arrange nothing because of darkness.

20 »Shall it be told him that I would speak? Or should a man say that he would be swallowed up?

21 »Now men do not see the light that is bright in the skies when the wind passed and cleared them.

22 »Golden splendors come out of the north around God’s awesome majesty.

23 »We cannot find the Almighty. He is exalted in power but will not do violence to justice and abundant righteousness.

24 »Therefore men respect him! He shows no partiality to the wise at heart.«

38

1 JEHOVAH ANSWERED JOB OUT OF THE WINDSTORM:

2 »Who is this that conceals hides counsel using words without knowledge?

3 »Prepare yourself like a man! I will question you, and you shall answer me.

4 »Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.

5 »Who determined its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6 »On what were its foundations set and who laid its cornerstone?

7 while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 »Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb?

9 »When I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,

10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,

11 when I said: ‘This far you may come and no farther’; here is where your proud waves halt?

12 »Have you ever commanded the morning, or shown the dawn its place?

13 »It might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?

14 »The earth takes shape like clay under a seal. Its features stand out like those of a garment.

15 »The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.

16 »Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 »Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

18 »Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.

19 »Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And where does darkness reside?

20 »Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

21 »Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!

22 »Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail?

23 »These I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle.

24 »What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

25 »Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm?

26 »Who waters a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it?

27 Who satisfies a desolate wasteland to make it sprout with grass?

28 »Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew?

29 »From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

30 when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?

31 »Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion?

32 »Can you bring forth the constellations of the zodiac in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Mazzaroth Constellation

33 »Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?

34 »Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?

35 »Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you: Here we are?

36 »Who endowed the innermost being with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind?

37 »Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens?

38 This when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?

39 »Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions

40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?

41 »Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?

39

1 »Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer?

2 »Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth,

3 when they crouch to give birth to their offspring, and are delivered of their young?

4 »Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open; they go forth, and do not return to them.

5 »Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey?

6 »Whose home I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwelling?

7 »He scorns the tumult of the city. He does not heed the shouts of the driver.

8 »The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.

9 »Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he bed by your manger?

10 »Can you bind the wild bull in the furrow with ropes? Or will he plow the valleys behind you?

11 »Will you rely on him for his great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to him?

12 »Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?

13 »The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.

14 »She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.

15 »She is unaware that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.

16 »She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers. Even if her labor is in vain, she is unconcerned.

17 »This is because God has made her forget wisdom. He has not given her a share of understanding.

18 »When she lifts herself on high, she laughs at the horse and his rider.

19 »Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane?

20 »Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrible.

21 »It paws in strength and finds joy in its power. It charges into battle.

22 »It laughs at fear, is afraid of nothing, and does not back away from swords.

23 »A quiver of arrows rattles on it along with the flashing spear and javelin.

24 »Anxious and excited, the horse eats up the ground and does not trust the sound of the ram's horn.

25 »As often as the horn sounds, the horse says: Aha! And it smells the battle far away; the thundering orders of the captains and the battle cries.

26 »Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads its wings toward the south?

27 »Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes its nest on high?

28 »It lives on the rock and makes its home in the fastness of the rocky crag.

29 »It spies the pray from there. Its eyes see it from far away.

30 »Its young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there it is.

40

1 JEHOVAH SPEAKS TO JOB:

2 »Will the person who finds fault with the Almighty correct him? Will the person who argues with God answer him?«

3 JOB ANSWERED JEHOVAH:

4 »I am so insignificant. How can I answer you? I will put my hand over my mouth.

5 I spoke once, but I cannot answer twice. I will proceed no further.«

6 He spoke out of a storm:

7 »Brace yourself like a man! I will ask you, and you will teach me.

8 »Would you undo my justice? Would you condemn me so that you can be righteous?

9 »Do you have an arm power like God’s? Can your voice thunder like his?

10 »Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor. Clothe yourself in honor and majesty.

11 »Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low!

12 »Look at every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked where they stand.

13 »Bury them all in the dust together and shroud their faces in the grave.

14 »I will admit to you then that your own right hand can save you.

15 »Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you. It feeds on grass as cattle do.

16 »What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly!

17 »His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.

18 »His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron.

19 »He ranks first among the works of God, yet his Maker can approach him with his sword.

20 »The hills bring him their produce. All the wild animals play nearby.

21 »He lies under the lotus plants, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.

22 »The lotuses conceal him in their shadow. The poplars by the stream surround him.

23 »The river rages, but he is not alarmed. He is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.

24 »Can anyone capture him by the eyes, or trap him and pierce his nose?

41

1 GOD CONTINUES TO QUESTION JOB:

2 »Can you catch Leviathan with a fishhook or tie his tongue down with a rope?

3 »Can you put a rope through his snout or put a hook through his jaws?

4 »Will he beg you to let him go? Will he plead with you for mercy?

5 »Will he make an agreement with you and promise to serve you forever?

6 »Will you tie him like a pet bird, like something to amuse your servant women?

7 »Will fishermen bargain over him? Will merchants cut him up to sell?

8 »Can you fill his hide with fishing spears or pierce his head with a harpoon?

9 »Indeed, hope of overcoming him is false. Should you be overwhelmed at the sight of him?

10 »No one is as fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against me?

11 »Who has preceded me that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is mine.

12 »I will not conceal his limbs, his mighty power, or his graceful proportions.

13 »Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle?

14 »Who can open the doors of his face, with his terrible teeth all around?

15 »His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as a seal.

16 »One is so near another that no air can come between them.

17 »They are joined one to another, they stick together and cannot be parted.

18 »Its sneezes flash forth light, and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.

19 »From its mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap out.

20 »Out of its nostrils comes smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.

21 »Its breath kindles coals, and a flame comes out of its mouth.

22 »In its neck abides strength, and terror dances before it.

23 »The folds of its flesh cling together; it is firmly cast and immovable.

24 »Its heart is as hard as stone, as hard as the lower millstone.

25 »When it raises itself up the gods are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves.

26 »Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail, nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin.

27 »It considers iron to be like straw and bronze to be like rotten wood.

28 »An arrow will not make it run away. Stones from a sling turn to dust against it.

29 »It considers clubs to be like stubble, and it laughs at a rattling javelin.

30 »Its underside is like sharp pieces of broken pottery. It stretches out like a threshing sledge on the mud.

31 »It makes the deep sea boil like a pot. It stirs up the ocean like a boiling kettle.

32 »It leaves a shining path behind it so that the sea appears to have silvery hair.

33 »Nothing on land can compare to it. It was made fearless.

34 »It looks down on all high things. It is king of everyone who is arrogant.

42

1 JOB REPLIED TO JEHOVAH:

2 »I know that you can do all things and no plan of yours can be thwarted.

3 »You asked: ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge? Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.’

4 »You said: ‘Listen now, and I will speak. I will question you, and you shall answer me.’

5 »My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.

6 »Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.«

7 »I am angry with you and your two friends, because you did not speak correctly about me, as my servant Job has.

8 »So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You did not speak correctly about me, as my servant Job has.«

9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what Jehovah told them. And Jehovah accepted Job’s prayer.

10 After Job had prayed for his friends, Jehovah made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.

11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble Jehovah allowed to come upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

12 Jehovah blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.

13 He also had seven sons and three daughters.

14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch.

15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters. Their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

16 After this Job lived a hundred and forty years. He saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

17 He died a very old man.