Most Popular Bible Verses in Job

Job Rank:

1

One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

3

There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of perfect integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.

8

But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

9

Haven’t You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

11

He had seven sons and three daughters.

13

One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

15

For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

17

a messenger came to Job and reported: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby,

20

Look at Behemoth,
which I made along with you.
He eats grass like an ox.

24

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

25

the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

26

He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house.

27

That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

28

He does great and unsearchable things,
wonders without number.

31

If only that day had turned to darkness!
May God above not care about it,
or light shine on it.

32

He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “A lightning storm struck from heaven. It burned up the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

34

Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.

35

Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

36

But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

37

You would call, and I would answer You.
You would long for the work of Your hands.

38

If He passes by me, I wouldn’t see Him;
if He goes right by, I wouldn’t recognize Him.

39

But a stupid man will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a man!

40

The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

41

My skin and my flesh cling to my bones;
I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

43

Why do I put myself at risk
and take my life in my own hands?

44

May darkness and gloom reclaim it,
and a cloud settle over it.
May an eclipse of the sun terrify it.

45

since we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are but a shadow.

46

I refuse to touch them;
they are like contaminated food.

47

You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and wove me together with bones and tendons.

48

how much less one who is revolting and corrupt,
who drinks injustice like water?

49

Can anyone teach God knowledge,
since He judges the exalted ones?

50

As for you, if you redirect your heart
and lift up your hands to Him in prayer—

51

“Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life.

52

For then You would count my steps
but would not take note of my sin.

53

No stranger had to spend the night on the street,
for I opened my door to the traveler.

54

Nothing is left for him to consume;
therefore, his prosperity will not last.

55

If you return to the Almighty, you will be renewed.
If you banish injustice from your tent

56

Will they not teach you and tell you
and speak from their understanding?

57

Whatever He tears down cannot be rebuilt;
whoever He imprisons cannot be released.

58

You gave me life and faithful love,
and Your care has guarded my life.

59

that He would decide to crush me,
to unleash His power and cut me off!

60

Isn’t your piety your confidence,
and the integrity of your life your hope?

61

One person dies in excellent health,
completely secure and at ease.

62

If He snatches something, who can stop Him?
Who can ask Him, “What are You doing?”

63

If only my request would be granted
and God would provide what I hope for:

64

He has no children or descendants among his people,
no survivor where he used to live.

65

and consign your gold to the dust,
the gold of Ophir to the stones in the wadis,

66

Listen to me and I will inform you.
I will describe what I have seen,

67

although my hands are free from violence
and my prayer is pure.

69

My lyre is used for mourning
and my flute for the sound of weeping.


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70

But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

73

Yes, this will result in my deliverance,
for no godless person can appear before Him.

74

“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.”

75

then you will hold your head high, free from fault.
You will be firmly established and unafraid.

76

He will never return to his house;
his hometown will no longer remember him.

77

if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—

78

If this is not true, then who can prove me a liar
and show that my speech is worthless?

79

He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes judges go mad.

80

Why do you persecute me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?

81

Am I the sea or a sea monster,
that You keep me under guard?

82

If only darkness had taken that night away!
May it not appear among the days of the year
or be listed in the calendar.

83

True wisdom and power belong to Him.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.

84

Earth, do not cover my blood;
may my cry for help find no resting place.

86

Consider: who has perished when he was innocent?
Where have the honest been destroyed?

87

when they crouch in their dens
and lie in wait within their lairs?

88

Have I covered my transgressions as others do
by hiding my guilt in my heart,

89

He sets the lowly on high,
and mourners are lifted to safety.

92

My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag,
and You would cover over my iniquity.

93

At the height of his success distress will come to him;
the full weight of misery will crush him.

94

Now then, I have prepared my case;
I know that I am right.

95

When He withholds the waters, everything dries up,
and when He releases them, they destroy the land.

96

Your life will be brighter than noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning.

98

Those in the west are appalled at his fate,
while those in the east tremble in horror.

99

He reveals mysteries from the darkness
and brings the deepest darkness into the light.

100

He leads priests away barefoot
and overthrows established leaders.

101

A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends,
even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.

102

But as a mountain collapses and crumbles
and a rock is dislodged from its place,

103

You produce new witnesses against me
and multiply Your anger toward me.
Hardships assault me, wave after wave.

104

Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless will perish.

105

While still uncut shoots,
they would dry up quicker than any other plant.

106

Even if I were in the right, I could not answer.
I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

107

He releases the bonds put on by kings
and fastens a belt around their waists.

108

Let those who curse certain days
cast a spell on it,
those who are skilled in rousing Leviathan.

109

You will be confident, because there is hope.
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.

110

God does not hold back His anger;
Rahab’s assistants cringe in fear beneath Him!

111

His source of confidence is fragile;
what he trusts in is a spider’s web.

112

He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms the strong.

113

May its morning stars grow dark.
May it wait for daylight but have none;
may it not see the breaking of dawn.

114

You will lie down without fear,
and many will seek your favor.

115

before I go to a land of darkness and gloom,
never to return.

116

Yes, may that night be barren;
may no joyful shout be heard in it.

117

Therefore I will not restrain my mouth.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

118

When I say: My bed will comfort me,
and my couch will ease my complaint,

119

He deprives trusted advisers of speech
and takes away the elders’ good judgment.

120

His body is well fed,
and his bones are full of marrow.

121

“Yet You concealed these thoughts in Your heart;
I know that this was Your hidden plan:

122

He batters me with a whirlwind
and multiplies my wounds without cause.

123

He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.

124

Are my days not few? Stop it!
Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little

126

They grope around in darkness without light;
He makes them stagger like drunken men.


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127

He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine;
his shoots spread out over his garden.

128

Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?

129

Even if I were in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, my mouth would declare me guilty.

130

He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

131

If I summoned Him and He answered me,
I do not believe He would pay attention to what I said.

132

Pay close attention to my words;
let my declaration ring in your ears.

133

Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.

134

If only Job were tested to the limit,
because his answers are like those of wicked men.

135

How then can I answer Him
or choose my arguments against Him?

136

Indeed, such is the dwelling of the unjust man,
and this is the place of the one who does not know God.

137

If it is a matter of strength, look, He is the Mighty One!
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

138

Why was I not stillborn;
why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?

139

Since I cannot help myself,
the hope for success has been banished from me.

140

He frustrates the schemes of the crafty
so that they achieve no success.

141

The caravans of Tema look for these streams.
The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.

142

Why not forgive my sin
and pardon my transgression?
For soon I will lie down in the grave.
You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.

143

It would still bring me comfort,
and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain
that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

144

For that night did not shut
the doors of my mother’s womb,
and hide sorrow from my eyes.

145

If he is uprooted from his place,
it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.”

146

If I am wicked, woe to me!
And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head.
I am filled with shame
and aware of my affliction.

147

Dreadful sounds fill his ears;
when he is at peace, a robber attacks him.

148

If his sons receive honor, he does not know it;
if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it.

149

Why did the knees receive me,
and why were there breasts for me to nurse?

150

Though I am blameless,
I no longer care about myself;
I renounce my life.

151

He saves the needy from their sharp words
and from the clutches of the powerful.

152

When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wept aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head.

153

Then you will delight in the Almighty
and lift up your face to God.

154

or were inscribed in stone forever
by an iron stylus and lead!

155

He traps the wise in their craftiness
so that the plans of the deceptive
are quickly brought to an end.

156

My days fly by faster than a runner;
they flee without seeing any good.

157

They encounter darkness by day,
and they grope at noon
as if it were night.

158

Or why was I not hidden like a miscarried child,
like infants who never see daylight?

159

I wish that someone might arbitrate
between a man and God
just as a man pleads for his friend.

160

What strength do I have that I should continue to hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?

161

Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
A fire unfanned by human hands will consume him;
it will feed on what is left in his tent.

162

Now I would certainly be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep.
Then I would be at rest

163

He wanders about for food, saying, “Where is it?”
He knows the day of darkness is at hand.

164

They perish at a single blast from God
and come to an end by the breath of His nostrils.

165

There the wicked cease to make trouble,
and there the weary find rest.

166

what was declared by wise men
and was not suppressed by their ancestors,

167

with the kings and counselors of the earth,
who rebuilt ruined cities for themselves,

169

then You frighten me with dreams,
and terrify me with visions,

170

Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.

171

How many iniquities and sins have I committed?
Reveal to me my transgression and sin.

173

So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.

174

The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered Him, “and walking around on it.”

176

Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster,
rescued from the day of wrath.

178

No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!

179

He makes nations great, then destroys them;
He enlarges nations, then leads them away.

180

remove Your hand from me,
and do not let Your terror frighten me.

181

May the day I was born perish,
and the night when they said,
“A boy is conceived.”

182

Why is light given to one burdened with grief,
and life to those whose existence is bitter,

183

Who would denounce his behavior to his face?
Who would repay him for what he has done?

184

It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness,
gloomy and chaotic,
where even the light is like the darkness.”

185

Only grant these two things to me, God,
so that I will not have to hide from Your presence:

186

I will see Him myself;
my eyes will look at Him, and not as a stranger.
My heart longs within me.

187

Can anyone indict me?
If so, I will be silent and die.

188

He feels only the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself.

189

Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

190

He will even rescue the guilty one,
who will be rescued by the purity of your hands.

191

Trouble and distress terrify him,
overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle.

192

I give up! I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.

193

so that I prefer strangling
death rather than life in this body.

194

What is man, that You think so highly of him
and pay so much attention to him?

195

Then call, and I will answer,
or I will speak, and You can respond to me.

197

Then Job answered:

198

They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

199

If you say, “How will we pursue him,
since the root of the problem lies with him?”

200

Is my strength that of stone,
or my flesh made of bronze?

201

the land was given to them alone
when no foreigner passed among them.

202

He would show you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your sin.

203

I am a laughingstock to my friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.
The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

204

You will laugh at destruction and hunger
and not fear the animals of the earth.

205

Call out if you please. Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones will you turn to?

207

For You record bitter accusations against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

208

Man wears out like something rotten,
like a moth-eaten garment.


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210

He is carried to the grave,
and someone keeps watch over his tomb.

211

When he fills his stomach,
God will send His burning anger against him,
raining it down on him while he is eating.

212

Even now my witness is in heaven,
and my advocate is in the heights!

213

he will dwell in ruined cities,
in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble.

214

He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes
and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

215

Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?

216

Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?

217

Should this stream of words go unanswered
and such a talker be acquitted?

218

I will say to God:
“Do not declare me guilty!
Let me know why You prosecute me.

219

I would give Him an account of all my steps;
I would approach Him like a prince.

220

If I have sinned, what have I done to You,
Watcher of mankind?
Why have You made me Your target,
so that I have become a burden to You?

221

I cannot relax or be still;
I have no rest, for trouble comes.

222

He said:

223

Both small and great are there,
and the slave is set free from his master.

224

He rushes headlong at Him
with his thick, studded shields.

225

Will You frighten a wind-driven leaf?
Will You chase after dry straw?

226

or with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.

227

The lion may roar and the fierce lion growl,
but the fangs of young lions are broken.

228

The captives are completely at ease;
they do not hear the voice of their oppressor.

229

You have said, “My teaching is sound,
and I am pure in Your sight.”

230

Surely He knows which people are worthless.
If He sees iniquity, will He not take note of it?

231

For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

232

Why is life given to a man whose path is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?

233

Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?

234

I wish I had never existed
but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

235

You put my feet in the stocks
and stand watch over all my paths,
setting a limit for the soles of my feet.

236

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

237

My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,
as seasonal streams that overflow

238

If my land cries out against me
and its furrows join in weeping,

239

So how can you offer me such futile comfort?
Your answers are deceptive.

240

Why do You hide Your face
and consider me Your enemy?

241

Surely this is the joy of his way of life;
yet others will sprout from the dust.

242

You will know that your tent is secure,
and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home.

243

Did You not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?

244

If He passes by and throws someone in prison
or convenes a court, who can stop Him?

245

Please remember that You formed me like clay.
Will You now return me to dust?

246

The tents of robbers are safe,
and those who provoke God are secure;
God’s power provides this.

247

But if only God would speak
and declare His case against you,

248

He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.
His possessions will not increase in the land.

249

Will You ever look away from me,
or leave me alone long enough to swallow?

250

Though his face is covered with fat
and his waistline bulges with it,

251

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with a shout of joy.

252

But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?

253

They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
their womb prepares deception.

254

The possessions in his house will be removed,
flowing away on the day of God’s anger.

255

who wait for death, but it does not come,
and search for it more than for hidden treasure,

256

Yet another person dies with a bitter soul,
having never tasted prosperity.

257

He doesn’t let me catch my breath
but soaks me with bitter experiences.

258

because I greatly feared the crowds,
and the contempt of the clans terrified me,
so I grew silent and would not go outside?

259

The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.

260

who are filled with much joy
and are glad when they reach the grave?

261

Your enemies will be clothed with shame;
the tent of the wicked will exist no longer.

263

Is it good for You to oppress,
to reject the work of Your hands,
and favor the plans of the wicked?

264

In famine He will redeem you from death,
and in battle, from the power of the sword.

265

Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,
when deep sleep descends on men,

266

Look, God does not reject a person of integrity,
and He will not support evildoers.

267

even though You know that I am not wicked
and that there is no one who can deliver from Your hand?

268

Yes, I know what you’ve said is true,
but how can a person be justified before God?

270

Is bland food eaten without salt?
Is there flavor in an egg white?

271

Do You have eyes of flesh,
or do You see as a human sees?

272

I sigh when food is put before me,
and my groans pour out like water.

273

The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.
The thirsty pant for his children’s wealth.

274

Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me;
my spirit drinks their poison.
God’s terrors are arrayed against me.

275

Are Your days like those of a human,
or Your years like those of a man,

276

that You look for my wrongdoing
and search for my sin,

277

The strong lion dies if it catches no prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

278

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;
only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

279

For ask the previous generation,
and pay attention to what their fathers discovered,

281

You will also know that your offspring will be many
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

282

Then Job answered:

283

Then Job answered:

284

Remember that my life is but a breath.
My eye will never again see anything good.

285

I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.

286

His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.
He looks for a home among the stones.

288

fear and trembling came over me
and made all my bones shake.

289

But if you earnestly seek God
and ask the Almighty for mercy,

291

and become darkened because of ice,
and the snow melts into them.

292

We have investigated this, and it is true!
Hear it and understand it for yourself.

294

The earth is handed over to the wicked;
He blindfolds its judges.
If it isn’t He, then who is it?

295

His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,
with no one to rescue them.

296

So I have been made to inherit months of futility,
and troubled nights have been assigned to me.

299

How long will you go on saying these things?
Your words are a blast of wind.

300

So this is what you have now become to me.
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.

301

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

302

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

303

as water wears away stones
and torrents wash away the soil from the land,
so You destroy a man’s hope.

304

“Job speaks without knowledge;
his words are without insight.”

305

Have I ever said: “Give me something”
or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth”

306

You inspect him every morning,
and put him to the test every moment.

307

When I lie down I think:
When will I get up?
But the evening drags on endlessly,
and I toss and turn until dawn.

308

You completely overpower him, and he passes on;
You change his appearance and send him away.

309

He removes mountains without their knowledge,
overturning them in His anger.

310

Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass
or an ox low over its fodder?

311

The wadis evaporate in warm weather;
they disappear from their channels in hot weather.

312

the Almighty will be your gold
and your finest silver.

313

Like a slave he longs for shade;
like a hired man he waits for his pay.

314

Since your children sinned against Him,
He gave them over to their rebellion.

315

If only my grief could be weighed
and my devastation placed with it in the scales.

316

My friends scoff at me
as I weep before God.

318

For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!
That is why my words are rash.

320

if you are pure and upright,
then He will move even now on your behalf
and restore the home where your righteousness dwells.

321

For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he scornfully claps in our presence,
while multiplying his words against God.

322

It is all the same. Therefore I say,
“He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.”

323

Caravans turn away from their routes,
go up into the desert, and perish.

324

If he flees from an iron weapon,
an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him.

325

A word was brought to me in secret;
my ears caught a whisper of it.

327

When disaster brings sudden death,
He mocks the despair of the innocent.

328

They sweep by like boats made of papyrus,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

330

No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.

331

Are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff a storm sweeps away?

332

How painful honest words can be!
But what does your rebuke prove?

333

They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water.
When they arrive there, they are frustrated.

334

or “Deliver me from the enemy’s power”
or “Redeem me from the grasp of the ruthless”?

335

Do you think that you can disprove my words
or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind?

337

You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.

338

Is there injustice on my tongue
or can my palate not taste disaster?


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339

But now, please look at me;
would I lie to your face?

340

If one wanted to take Him to court,
he could not answer God once in a thousand times.

341

“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.

342

If I wash myself with snow,
and cleanse my hands with lye,

343

I would still live in terror of all my pains.
I know You will not acquit me.

344

Without clothing, they spend the night naked,
having no covering against the cold.

346

His estate included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man among all the people of the east.

347

After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has.

348

Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness is still the issue.

349

Since I will be found guilty,
why should I labor in vain?

350

If I said, “I will forget my complaint,
change my expression, and smile,”

352

Who can produce something pure from what is impure?
No one!

353

One day the sons of God came again to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the Lord.

354

“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, you must not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

355

Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought: Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts. This was Job’s regular practice.

356

how much more those who dwell in clay houses,
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth!

357

The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered Him, “and walking around on it.”

358

When a man dies, will he come back to life?
If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle
until my relief comes.

359

I know your thoughts very well,
the schemes you would wrong me with.

360

He doesn’t believe he will return from darkness;
he is destined for the sword.

361

A wind passed by me,
and I shuddered with fear.

363

For the thing I feared has overtaken me,
and what I dreaded has happened to me.

364

They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;
they perish forever while no one notices.

366

There is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its shoots will not die.

367

His wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

368

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him, to destroy him without just cause.”

369

But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

370

Are their tent cords not pulled up?
They die without wisdom.


>

371

Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling
and braced the knees that were buckling.

372

All his brothers, sisters, and former acquaintances came to his house and dined with him in his house. They sympathized with him and comforted him concerning all the adversity the Lord had brought on him. Each one gave him a qesitah and a gold earring.

373

Even after my skin has been destroyed,
yet I will see God in my flesh.

374

But they both lie in the dust,
and worms cover them.

375

When others are humiliated and you say, “Lift them up,”
God will save the humble.

377

Can you hunt prey for a lioness
or satisfy the appetite of young lions

381

A figure stood there,
but I could not recognize its appearance;
a form loomed before my eyes.
I heard a quiet voice:

383

The Lord answered Job:

384

If only I had someone to hear my case!
Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me.
Let my Opponent compose His indictment.

385

The heavens will expose his iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against him.

387

Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.

389

But mankind is born for trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

390

Indeed, you have instructed many
and have strengthened weak hands.

391

His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

392

Did not the One who made me in the womb also make them?
Did not the same God form us both in the womb?

393

He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the sea.

394

But now they mock me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.

395

Have you entered the place where the snow is stored?
Or have you seen the storehouses of hail,

396

Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.

397

Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook
or tie his tongue down with a rope?

398

then be afraid of the sword,
because wrath brings punishment by the sword,
so that you may know there is a judgment.

399

But where can wisdom be found,
and where is understanding located?

400

so man lies down never to rise again.
They will not wake up until the heavens are no more;
they will not stir from their sleep.

402

Should anyone try to speak with you
when you are exhausted?
Yet who can keep from speaking?

403

Yet the righteous person will hold to his way,
and the one whose hands are clean will grow stronger.

404

He blossoms like a flower, then withers;
he flees like a shadow and does not last.

405

Isn’t mankind consigned to forced labor on earth?
Are not his days like those of a hired hand?

406

For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house?”
and “Where are the tents the wicked lived in?”

407

Who is this who obscures My counsel
with ignorant words?

409

Who enclosed the sea behind doors
when it burst from the womb,

410

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

411

Then Job answered:

412

There is no one to judge between us,
to lay his hand on both of us.

414

if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining
or at the moon moving in splendor,

416

But you coat the truth with lies;
you are all worthless doctors.

417

If there is an angel on his side,
one mediator out of a thousand,
to tell a person what is right for him

418

Then Job answered:

420

He will rescue you from six calamities;
no harm will touch you in seven.

421

Who confronted Me, that I should repay him?
Everything under heaven belongs to Me.

423

For God speaks time and again,
but a person may not notice it.

424

Would the wild ox be willing to serve you?
Would it spend the night by your feeding trough?

425

But a man dies and fades away;
he breathes his last—where is he?

426

I am so insignificant. How can I answer You?
I place my hand over my mouth.

427

Then Job answered:

428

“Your hands shaped me and formed me.
Will You now turn and destroy me?

429

Can a man be of any use to God?
Can even a wise man be of use to Him?

430

As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again.

431

What supports its foundations?
Or who laid its cornerstone

432

If only You would hide me in Sheol
and conceal me until Your anger passes.
If only You would appoint a time for me
and then remember me.

433

when my feet were bathed in cream
and the rock poured out streams of oil for me!

434

then let thorns grow instead of wheat
and stinkweed instead of barley.


The words of Job are concluded.

435

Yet they say to God: “Leave us alone!
We don’t want to know Your ways.

436

He makes the stars: the Bear, Orion,
the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky.

437

I wish that my words were written down,
that they were recorded on a scroll

438

After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born.

439

So the Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

441

He laid out the horizon on the surface of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.

442

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

443

The departed spirits tremble
beneath the waters and all that inhabit them.

444

can you help God spread out the skies
as hard as a cast metal mirror?

445

You asked, “Who is this who conceals My counsel with ignorance?”
Surely I spoke about things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.

446

However, if I were you, I would appeal to God
and would present my case to Him.

447

Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

448

Have you never consulted those who travel the roads?
Don’t you accept their reports?

449

If I await Sheol as my home,
spread out my bed in darkness,

450

He pulls it out of his back,
the flashing tip out of his liver.
Terrors come over him.

451

Look, my eyes have seen all this;
my ears have heard and understood it.

452

When I went out to the city gate
and took my seat in the town square,

453

how much less man, who is a maggot,
and the son of man, who is a worm!

454

If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants
when they made a complaint against me,

455

Have you ever in your life commanded the morning
or assigned the dawn its place,

456

So these three men quit answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

457

For I rescued the poor man who cried out for help,
and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.

458

Parts of his skin are eaten away;
death’s firstborn consumes his limbs.

460

For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him,
that we can take each other to court.

462

If God puts no trust in His holy ones
and the heavens are not pure in His sight,

463

Now take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you. I will surely accept his prayer and not deal with you as your folly deserves. For you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has.”

464

If only I knew how to find Him,
so that I could go to His throne.

465

By His power He stirred the sea,
and by His understanding He crushed Rahab.

466

The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but are her feathers and plumage like the stork’s?

467

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

468

the joy of the wicked has been brief
and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment?

470

His anger tears at me, and He harasses me.
He gnashes His teeth at me.
My enemy pierces me with His eyes.

471

Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding.
It is impossible for God to do wrong,
and for the Almighty to act unjustly.

472

The wicked displace boundary markers.
They steal a flock and provide pasture for it.

474

In a dream, a vision in the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they slumber on their beds,

475

Job continued his discourse, saying:

478

The dirt on his grave is sweet to him.
Everyone follows behind him,
and those who go before him are without number.

479

If I go east, He is not there,
and if I go west, I cannot perceive Him.

480

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

481

Have you traveled to the sources of the sea
or walked in the depths of the oceans?

482

For He makes waterdrops evaporate;
they distill the rain into its mist,

483

I would surely carry it on my shoulder
and wear it like a crown.

484

How long until you stop talking?
Show some sense, and then we can talk.

485

when I declared: “You may come this far, but no farther;
your proud waves stop here”?

486

They spend their days in prosperity
and go down to Sheol in peace.

487

Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray,
for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless.

488

Yes, the light of the wicked is extinguished;
the flame of his fire does not glow.

489

If only I could be as in months gone by,
in the days when God watched over me,

491

The pillars that hold up the sky tremble,
astounded at His rebuke.

492

Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite from the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justified himself rather than God.

493

Then Elihu continued, saying:

494

Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment?
Why do those who know Him never see His days?

495

Would you testify unjustly on God’s behalf
or speak deceitfully for Him?

496

Will it go down to the gates of Sheol,
or will we descend together to the dust?

497

This is the wicked man’s lot from God,
the inheritance God ordained for him.

498

Do you know when mountain goats give birth?
Have you watched the deer in labor?

499

Can you bring out the constellations in their season
and lead the Bear and her cubs?

500

singing to the tambourine and lyre
and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.

501

He will not escape from the darkness;
flames will wither his shoots,
and by the breath of God’s mouth, he will depart.

502

Clouds veil Him so that He cannot see,
as He walks on the circle of the sky.”

503

Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth
and he conceals it under his tongue,

504

I clothed myself in righteousness,
and it enveloped me;
my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.

505

My heart pounds at this
and leaps from my chest.

506

Where is the road to the home of light?
Do you know where darkness lives,

508

He is ripped from the security of his tent
and marched away to the king of terrors.

509

Isn’t God as high as the heavens?
And look at the highest stars—how lofty they are!

510

Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
Let him who argues with God give an answer.

511

Will you continue on the ancient path
that wicked men have walked?

512

When God fixed the weight of the wind
and limited the water by measure,

513

They let their little ones run around like lambs;
their children skip about,

514

Dominion and dread belong to Him,
the One who establishes harmony in the heavens.

515

If you were in my place I could also talk like you.
I could string words together against you
and shake my head at you.

518

As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow,
so Sheol steals those who have sinned.

519

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
and what will we gain by pleading with Him?”

520

But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before Him.

522

I have become a brother to jackals
and a companion of ostriches.

523

Do you give strength to the horse?
Do you adorn his neck with a mane?

524

For you took collateral from your brothers without cause,
stripping off their clothes and leaving them naked.

525

Yet out of the north He comes, shrouded in a golden glow;
awesome majesty surrounds Him.

526

Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?

527

Do you listen in on the council of God,
or have a monopoly on wisdom?

528

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

529

Get ready to answer Me like a man;
when I question you, you will inform Me.

530

The wicked are those who rebel against the light.
They do not recognize its ways
or stay on its paths.

531

God is not partial to princes
and does not favor the rich over the poor,
for they are all the work of His hands.

532

For the company of the godless will have no children,
and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes.

533

For what hope does the godless man have when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?

534

I have heard many things like these.
You are all miserable comforters.

536

Isn’t your wickedness abundant
and aren’t your iniquities endless?

537

He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst beneath their weight.

539

Does a wise man answer with empty counsel
or fill himself with the hot east wind?

540

I was at ease, but He shattered me;
He seized me by the scruff of the neck
and smashed me to pieces.
He set me up as His target;

541

Iron is taken from the ground,
and copper is smelted from ore.

542

For He looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.

543

It will be accomplished before his time,
and his branch will not flourish.

544

You sent widows away empty-handed,
and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

545

How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
Does disaster come on them?
Does He apportion destruction in His anger?

546

I will be partial to no one,
and I will not give anyone an undeserved title.

547

He will suck the poison of cobras;
a viper’s fangs will kill him.

548

Surely mockers surround me
and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.

549

look away from him and let him rest
so that he can enjoy his day like a hired hand.

550

Let Him take His rod away from me
so His terror will no longer frighten me.

551

My skin blackens and flakes off,
and my bones burn with fever.

552

All of my best friends despise me,
and those I love have turned against me.

553

Would it go well if He examined you?
Could you deceive Him as you would deceive a man?

554

I have sewn sackcloth over my skin;
I have buried my strength in the dust.

555

Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us,
men older than your father.

556

if I have consumed its produce without payment
or shown contempt for its tenants,

557

Unleash your raging anger;
look on every proud person and humiliate him.

558

Yet I prefer to speak to the Almighty
and argue my case before God.

559

Would you really challenge My justice?
Would you declare Me guilty to justify yourself?

560

Everything you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.

561

So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied:

I am young in years,
while you are old;
therefore I was timid and afraid
to tell you what I know.

562

then You dip me in a pit of mud,
and my own clothes despise me!

563

God thunders marvelously with His voice;
He does great things that we cannot comprehend.

564

For he has stretched out his hand against God
and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty.

565

If only you would shut up
and let that be your wisdom!

566

Do you know the laws of heaven?
Can you impose its authority on earth?

567

He tears me down on every side so that I am ruined.
He uproots my hope like a tree.

568

As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,
and the Almighty who has made me bitter,

569

The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast;
the nursing child of the poor is seized as collateral.

570

A person may be disciplined on his bed with pain
and constant distress in his bones,

571

He has removed my brothers from me;
my acquaintances have abandoned me.

572

As water disappears from the sea
and a river becomes parched and dry,

573

I will never affirm that you are right.
I will maintain my integrity until I die.

574

Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning.
The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.

575

Who put wisdom in the heart
or gave the mind understanding?

576

He stiffens his tail like a cedar tree;
the tendons of his thighs are woven firmly together.

577

Pay close attention to my words;
let this be the consolation you offer.

578

Who cuts a channel for the flooding rain
or clears the way for lightning,

579

You who tear yourself in anger
should the earth be abandoned on your account,
or a rock be removed from its place?

580

Adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,
and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

581

when I determined its boundaries
and put its bars and doors in place,

582

every living thing would perish together
and mankind would return to the dust.

584

The miner strikes the flint
and transforms the mountains at their foundations.

585

He will fly away like a dream and never be found;
he will be chased away like a vision in the night.

586

Bear with me while I speak;
then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.

587

Does the eagle soar at your command
and make its nest on high?

588

Today also my complaint is bitter.
His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

589

Do You really take notice of one like this?
Will You bring me into judgment against You?

590

He is the foremost of God’s works;
only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

591

Your iniquity teaches you what to say,
and you choose the language of the crafty.

592

But now, Job, pay attention to my speech,
and listen to all my words.

593

Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

595

Indeed, He lured you from the jaws of distress
to a spacious and unconfined place.
Your table was spread with choice food.

596

Look, God shows Himself exalted by His power.
Who is a teacher like Him?

597

Yet you say: “What does God know?
Can He judge through thick darkness?

598

Be quiet, and I will speak.
Let whatever comes happen to me.

599

They plucked mallow among the shrubs,
and the roots of the broom tree were their food.

600

If even the moon does not shine
and the stars are not pure in His sight,

602

Even if it is true that I have sinned,
my mistake concerns only me.

603

Who set the wild donkey free?
Who released the swift donkey from its harness?

604

God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.

605

and to be gracious to him and say,
“Spare him from going down to the Pit;
I have found a ransom,”

606

Job lived 140 years after this and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

607

If my heart has been seduced by my neighbor’s wife
or I have lurked at his door,

608

Terrors frighten him on every side
and harass him at every step.

609

and say to corruption: You are my father,
and to the maggot: My mother or my sister,

610

Abaddon and Death say,
“We have heard news of it with our ears.”

611

Your own mouth condemns you, not I;
your own lips testify against you.

612

Are God’s consolations not enough for you,
even the words that deal gently with you?

613

If they serve Him obediently,
they will end their days in prosperity
and their years in happiness.

614

Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth,
and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.

615

How you have helped the powerless
and delivered the arm that is weak!

616

Don’t you know that ever since antiquity,
from the time man was placed on earth,

617

My feet have followed in His tracks;
I have kept to His way and not turned aside.

618

He is driven from light to darkness
and chased from the inhabited world.

619

His troops advance together;
they construct a ramp against me
and camp around my tent.

620

His snorting flashes with light,
while his eyes are like the rays of dawn.

621

Can you put a cord through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?

622

He will look at men and say,
“I have sinned and perverted what was right;
yet I did not get what I deserved.

623

His archers surround me.
He pierces my kidneys without mercy
and pours my bile on the ground.

624

God rescues the afflicted by their affliction;
He instructs them by their torment.

625

Therefore snares surround you,
and sudden dread terrifies you,

626

His powerful stride is shortened,
and his own schemes trip him up.

627

Make arrangements! Put up security for me.
Who else will be my sponsor?

628

Even if I speak, my suffering is not relieved,
and if I hold back, what have I lost?

629

as you turn your anger against God
and allow such words to leave your mouth?

630

Where then does wisdom come from,
and where is understanding located?

631

I have heard a rebuke that insults me,
and my understanding makes me reply.

632

You have shriveled me up—it has become a witness;
My frailty rises up against me and testifies to my face.

633

when I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its blanket,

634

My face has grown red with weeping,
and darkness covers my eyes,

635

They open their mouths against me
and strike my cheeks with contempt;
they join themselves together against me.

636

This is a wicked man’s lot from God,
the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty.

638

Can you hold the wild ox to a furrow by its harness?
Will it plow the valleys behind you?

639

Look on every proud person and humble him;
trample the wicked where they stand.

640

so it may seize the edges of the earth
and shake the wicked out of it?

641

For what portion would I have from God above,
or what inheritance from the Almighty on high?

642

Surely He has now exhausted me.
You have devastated my entire family.

644

He breaks through my defenses again and again;
He charges at me like a warrior.

645

Have I rejoiced over my enemy’s distress,
or become excited when trouble came his way?

646

Yes, I know that You will lead me to death—
the place appointed for all who live.

648

He has stripped me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.

649

Job continued his discourse, saying:

650

Their bulls breed without fail;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.

651

He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch.

652

The adulterer’s eye watches for twilight,
thinking: No eye will see me;
he covers his face.

653

The earth is changed as clay is by a seal;
its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.

654

Then Job answered the Lord:

655

Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly
and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

656

Then Elihu continued, saying:

657

Then Job answered:

658

Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one;
He understands all things.

659

Now I am mocked by their songs;
I have become an object of scorn to them.

660

who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?”

661

Nothing he owned remains in his tent.
Burning sulfur is scattered over his home.

662

If its roots grow old in the ground
and its stump starts to die in the soil,

663

The light in his tent grows dark,
and the lamp beside him is put out.

664

let God weigh me in accurate scales,
and He will recognize my integrity.

665

If you really want to appear superior to me
and would use my disgrace as evidence against me,

666

His bones are bronze tubes;
his limbs are like iron rods.

668

For He repays a person according to his deeds,
and He brings his ways on him.

669

For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon;
it would destroy my entire harvest.

670

This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer,
because I am upset!

671

Does the hawk take flight by your understanding
and spread its wings to the south?

672

They were snatched away before their time,
and their foundations were washed away by a river.

673

He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eyes spot every treasure.

674

Because his appetite is never satisfied,
he does not let anything he desires escape.

675

Look at me and shudder;
put your hand over your mouth.

676

The Almighty—we cannot reach Him—
He is exalted in power!
He will not oppress justice and abundant righteousness,

677

Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it,
and it cannot be valued in pure gold.

678

Does the rain have a father?
Who fathered the drops of dew?

679

My breath is offensive to my wife,
and my own family finds me repulsive.

680

For his own feet lead him into a net,
and he strays into its mesh.

681

then understand that it is God who has wronged me
and caught me in His net.

682

Were you the first person ever born,
or were you brought forth before the hills?

683

He will pray to God, and God will delight in him.
That man will see His face with a shout of joy,
and God will restore his righteousness to him.

684

Gold cannot be exchanged for it,
and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.

685

serve as His sign to all mankind,
so that all men may know His work.

686

The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon
or a booth set up by a watchman.

687

Will he delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?

688

Like wild donkeys in the desert,
the poor go out to their task of foraging for food;
the wilderness provides nourishment for their children.

689

Would you show partiality to Him
or argue the case in His defense?

690

He has made me an object of scorn to the people;
I have become a man people spit at.

691

You have closed their minds to understanding,
therefore You will not honor them.

692

yet the food in his stomach turns
into cobras’ venom inside him.

693

he will vanish forever like his own dung.
Those who know him will ask, “Where is he?”

694

They were the ones who said to God, “Leave us alone!”
and “What can the Almighty do to us?”

695

He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

696

A trap catches him by the heel;
a noose seizes him.

697

Whose womb did the ice come from?
Who gave birth to the frost of heaven

698

His pride is in his rows of scales,
closely sealed together.

699

Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?
Do they report to you: “Here we are”?

700

I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by asking for his life with a curse.

702

Get ready to answer Me like a man;
When I question you, you will inform Me.

704

You have humiliated me ten times now,
and you mistreat me without shame.

705

Surely He would rebuke you
if you secretly showed partiality.

706

Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.

707

Just listen to His thunderous voice
and the rumbling that comes from His mouth.

708

His breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames pour out of his mouth.

709

Its brood gulps down blood,
and where the slain are, it is there.

710

He surveys everything that is haughty;
he is king over all the proud beasts.

711

I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
when I stand up, You merely look at me.

712

The murderer rises at dawn
to kill the poor and needy,
and by night he becomes a thief.

713

From the city, men groan;
the mortally wounded cry for help,
yet God pays no attention to this crime.

714

when He established a limit for the rain
and a path for the lightning,

715

For I am full of words,
and my spirit compels me to speak.

716

He swallows wealth but must vomit it up;
God will force it from his stomach.

717

He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me,
and He has many more things like these in mind.

718

though he cherishes it and will not let it go
but keeps it in his mouth,

719

He uncovers their ears at that time
and terrifies them with warnings,

720

He obscures the view of His throne,
spreading His cloud over it.

721

His heart is as hard as a rock,
as hard as a lower millstone!

722

When Leviathan rises, the mighty are terrified;
they withdraw because of his thrashing.

723

He does not remove His gaze from the righteous,
but He seats them forever with enthroned kings,
and they are exalted.

724

Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash;
your defenses are made of clay.

725

But when God is silent, who can declare Him guilty?
When He hides His face, who can see Him?
Yet He watches over both individuals and nations,

726

I would plead my case before Him
and fill my mouth with arguments.

727

If a man informs on his friends for a price,
the eyes of his children will fail.

728

The windstorm comes from its chamber,
and the cold from the driving north winds.

729

Those who have a godless heart harbor anger;
even when God binds them, they do not cry for help.

730

I am just like you before God;
I was also pinched off from a piece of clay.

731

God reserves a person’s punishment for his children.
Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.

732

So I thought: I will die in my own nest
and multiply my days as the sand.

733

Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?

734

For what does he care about his family once he is dead,
when the number of his months has run out?

736

No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance with their brothers.

737

He has blocked my way so that I cannot pass through;
He has veiled my paths with darkness.

738

But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter,
since God is greater than man.

739

God hands me over to unjust men;
He throws me into the hands of the wicked.

740

if he did not bless me
while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep,

741

He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,
and I will continue to see the light.”

742

When they heard me, they blessed me,
and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.

743

Can His troops be numbered?
Does His light not shine on everyone?

744

His bones may be full of youthful vigor,
but will lie down with him in the grave.

745

Is there no end to your empty words?
What provokes you that you continue testifying?

746

Then Elihu continued, saying:

747

My heart is like unvented wine;
it is about to burst like new wineskins.

748

There is no darkness, no deep darkness,
where evildoers can hide themselves.

749

But come back and try again, all of you.
I will not find a wise man among you.

750

What do you know that we don’t?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?

751

He lies under the lotus plants,
hiding in the protection of marshy reeds.

752

The dying man blessed me,
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice.

753

No bird of prey knows that path;
no falcon’s eye has seen it.

754

An east wind picks him up, and he is gone;
it carries him away from his place.

755

Then I will confess to you
that your own right hand can deliver you.

756

They drive away the donkeys owned by the fatherless
and take the widow’s ox as collateral.

757

The sword that reaches him will have no effect,
nor will a spear, dart, or arrow.

758

Their homes are secure and free of fear;
no rod from God strikes them.

759

No one is ferocious enough to rouse Leviathan;
who then can stand against Me?

760

When the trumpet blasts, he snorts defiantly.
He smells the battle from a distance;
he hears the officers’ shouts and the battle cry.

761

If people are bound with chains
and trapped by the cords of affliction,

762

Why do you take Him to court
for not answering anything a person asks?

764

He lets it loose beneath the entire sky;
His lightning to the ends of the earth.

766

the smell of water makes it thrive
and produce twigs like a sapling.

767

Terrors are turned loose against me;
they chase my dignity away like the wind,
and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.

768

Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?
Has my soul not grieved for the needy?

769

Look at the strength of his loins
and the power in the muscles of his belly.

770

Then Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

771

I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.

772

Emaciated from poverty and hunger,
they gnawed the dry land,
the desolate wasteland by night.

773

when His lamp shone above my head,
and I walked through darkness by His light!

774

I would be as I was in the days of my youth
when God’s friendship rested on my tent,

775

Why are we regarded as cattle,
as stupid in your sight?

776

They turned night into day
and made light seem near in the face of darkness.

777

My words come from my upright heart,
and my lips speak with sincerity what they know.

778

Does it delight the Almighty if you are righteous?
Does He profit if you perfect your behavior?

779

His roots below dry up,
and his branches above wither away.

780

Smoke billows from his nostrils
as from a boiling pot or burning reeds.

781

When He is at work to the north, I cannot see Him;
when He turns south, I cannot find Him.

782

He causes this to happen for punishment,
for His land, or for His faithful love.

783

Gold and glass do not compare with it,
and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.

784

what could I do when God stands up to judge?
How should I answer Him when He calls me to account?

785

They crush olives in their presses;
they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.

786

My house guests and female servants regard me as a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.

787

She abandons her eggs on the ground
and lets them be warmed in the sand.

788

A miner puts an end to the darkness;
he probes the deepest recesses
for ore in the gloomy darkness.

789

Let his own eyes see his demise;
let him drink from the Almighty’s wrath!

791

He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it;
he doesn’t enjoy the profits from his trading.

792

But God understands the way to wisdom,
and He knows its location.

794

if I have eaten my few crumbs alone
without letting the fatherless eat any of it—

795

God spares his soul from the Pit,
his life from crossing the river of death.

796

Be careful that no one lures you with riches;
do not let a large ransom lead you astray.

797

As for me, is my complaint against a man?
Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?

798

Though he piles up silver like dust
and heaps up a wardrobe like clay—

799

I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even if I beg him with my own mouth.

800

The folds of his flesh are joined together,
solid as metal and immovable.

801

A rope lies hidden for him on the ground,
and a snare waits for him along the path.

802

Remember that you should praise His work,
which people have sung about.

803

They gather their fodder in the field
and glean the vineyards of the wicked.

804

I have spoken once, and I will not reply;
twice, but now I can add nothing.

805

All memory of him perishes from the earth;
he has no name anywhere.

806

Would He prosecute me forcefully?
No, He will certainly pay attention to me.

807

It claps its hands at him
and scorns him from its place.

808

I made the wilderness its home,
and the salty wasteland its dwelling.

809

I cannot be silent about his limbs,
his power, and his graceful proportions.

810

What road leads to the place where light is dispersed?
Where is the source of the east wind that spreads across the earth?

811

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were all older than he.

812

But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

813

Flaming torches shoot from his mouth;
fiery sparks fly out!

814

They swirl about,
turning round and round at His direction,
accomplishing everything He commands them
over the surface of the inhabited world.

815

If I have walked in falsehood
or my foot has rushed to deceit,

816

If you are righteous, what do you give Him,
or what does He receive from your hand?

817

Why has your heart misled you,
and why do your eyes flash

818

Though his arrogance reaches heaven,
and his head touches the clouds,

819

Will traders bargain for him
or divide him among the merchants?

820

He shatters the mighty without an investigation
and sets others in their place.

821

If my step has turned from the way,
my heart has followed my eyes,
or impurity has stained my hands,

822

His strength is depleted;
disaster lies ready for him to stumble.

823

Terrors overtake him like a flood;
a storm wind sweeps him away at night.

824

Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?

825

One scale is so close to another
that no air can pass between them.

826

People cry out because of severe oppression;
they shout for help because of the arm of the mighty.

827

Suppose someone says to God,
“I have endured my punishment;
I will no longer act wickedly.

828

They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone;
they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else.
They wither like heads of grain.

829

if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great
or because my own hand has acquired so much,

830

You gave no water to the thirsty
and withheld food from the famished,

831

They die in their youth;
their life ends among male cult prostitutes.

832

The womb forgets them;
worms feed on them;
they are remembered no more.
So injustice is broken like a tree.

833

His anger burns against me,
and He regards me as one of His enemies.

834

Hear now my argument,
and listen to my defense.

835

The hills yield food for him,
while all sorts of wild animals play there.

836

They despise me and keep their distance from me;
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

837

so that my heart was secretly enticed
and I threw them a kiss,

838

Without clothing, they wander about naked.
They carry sheaves but go hungry.

839

Hide them together in the dust;
imprison them in the grave.

840

Would God’s majesty not terrify you?
Would His dread not fall on you?

841

A quiver rattles at his side,
along with a flashing spear and a lance.

842

He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength;
He charges into battle.

843

His children will beg from the poor,
for his own hands must give back his wealth.

844

Proud beasts have never walked on it;
no lion has ever prowled over it.

845

Any hope of capturing him proves false.
Does a person not collapse at the very sight of him?

846

She treats her young harshly, as if they were not her own,
with no fear that her labor may have been in vain.

847

They prey on the childless woman who is unable to conceive,
and do not deal kindly with the widow.

848

so that he detests bread,
and his soul despises his favorite food.

849

Who can open his jaws,
surrounded by those terrifying teeth?

850

Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid;
he remains confident, even if the Jordan surges up to his mouth.

851

My strength will be refreshed within me,
and my bow will be renewed in my hand.

853

For that would be a disgrace;
it would be a crime deserving punishment.

854

He draws near to the Pit,
and his life to the executioners.

855

Do you think it is just when you say,
“I am righteous before God”?

856

Does He correct you and take you to court
because of your piety?

857

Men listened to me with expectation,
waiting silently for my advice.

858

For God has deprived her of wisdom;
He has not endowed her with understanding.

859

Look at the heavens and see;
gaze at the clouds high above you.

860

Will he make a covenant with you
so that you can take him as a slave forever?

861

Lotus plants cover him with their shade;
the willows by the brook surround him.

862

Will God hear his cry
when distress comes on him?

863

For the morning is like darkness to them.
Surely they are familiar with the terrors of darkness!

864

Strength resides in his neck,
and dismay dances before him.

865

They are joined to one another,
so closely connected they cannot be separated.

866

The righteous see this and rejoice;
the innocent mock them, saying,

867

Teach me what I cannot see;
if I have done wrong, I won’t do it again.”

868

let my own wife grind grain for another man,
and let other men sleep with her.

869

Their children are established while they are still alive,
and their descendants, before their eyes.

870

Light is withheld from the wicked,
and the arm raised in violence is broken.

871

“I am pure, without transgression;
I am clean and have no guilt.

872

What use to me was the strength of their hands?
Their vigor had left them.

873

Its rocks are a source of sapphire,
containing flecks of gold.

874

Yet God drags away the mighty by His power;
when He rises up, they have no assurance of life.

875

They float on the surface of the water.
Their section of the land is cursed,
so that they never go to their vineyards.

876

When I think about it, I am terrified
and my body trembles in horror.

877

to bring rain on an uninhabited land,
on a desert with no human life,

878

He saturates clouds with moisture;
He scatters His lightning through them.

879

They die suddenly in the middle of the night;
people shudder, then pass away.
Even the mighty are removed without effort.

880

Foolish men, without even a name.
They were forced to leave the land.

881

while the land belonged to a powerful man
and an influential man lived on it.

882

if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing
or a needy person without a cloak,

883

He charges ahead with trembling rage;
he cannot stand still at the trumpet’s sound.

884

Therefore I am terrified in His presence;
when I consider this, I am afraid of Him.

885

But He finds reasons to oppose me;
He regards me as His enemy.

886

Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,
yet their widows will not weep for them.

887

Can you play with him like a bird
or put him on a leash for your girls?

888

The eye that saw him will see him no more,
and his household will no longer see him.

890

He dams up the streams from flowing
so that he may bring to light what is hidden.

891

Now my life is poured out before my eyes,
and days of suffering have seized me.

892

If you sin, how does it affect God?
If you multiply your transgressions, what does it do to Him?

893

Who can strip off his outer covering?
Who can penetrate his double layer of armor?

894

Can you trust the wild ox to harvest your grain
and bring it to your threshing floor?

895

Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field.
They leave and do not return.

896

or darkness, so you cannot see,
and a flood of water covers you.

897

who says to a king, “Worthless man!”
and to nobles, “Wicked men!”?

898

Who did you speak these words to?
Whose breath came out of your mouth?

899

There they cry out, but He does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.

900

He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, it is gone.

901

Therefore, men fear Him.
He does not look favorably on any who are wise in heart.

902

Will he beg you for mercy
or speak softly to you?

903

No man can know its value,
since it cannot be found in the land of the living.

904

Hear my words, you wise men,
and listen to me, you knowledgeable ones.

905

The upright are appalled at this,
and the innocent are roused against the godless.

906

But it was He who filled their houses with good things.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

907

What man is like Job?
He drinks derision like water.

908

For disaster from God terrifies me,
and because of His majesty I could not do these things.

909

They push the needy off the road;
the poor of the land are forced into hiding.

910

Food may come from the earth,
but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.

911

Do you make him leap like a locust?
His proud snorting fills one with terror.

912

I shattered the fangs of the unjust
and snatched the prey from his teeth.

913

For he has said, “A man gains nothing
when he becomes God’s friend.”

914

You have turned against me with cruelty;
You harass me with Your strong hand.

916

Should he argue with useless talk
or with words that serve no good purpose?

917

He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing;
he does not run from the sword.

918

God certainly does all these things
two or three times to a man

919

Could one who hates justice govern the world?
Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,

920

Doesn’t disaster come to the unjust
and misfortune to evildoers?

921

Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?
Or who can tilt the water jars of heaven

922

They waited for me as for the rain
and opened their mouths as for spring showers.

923

For He judges the nations with these;
He gives food in abundance.

924

It blasts at him without mercy,
while he flees desperately from its grasp.

925

in order to turn him back from the Pit,
so he may shine with the light of life.

926

Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword;
his descendants will never have enough food.

927

Can anyone capture him while he looks on,
or pierce his nose with snares?


>

929

He opens their ears to correction
and insists they repent from iniquity.

930

then let my shoulder blade fall from my back,
and my arm be pulled from its socket.

931

if I ever cast my vote against a fatherless child
when I saw that I had support in the city gate,

932

but caused the poor to cry out to Him,
and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.

933

Who gave Him authority over the earth?
Who put Him in charge of the entire world?

934

Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me,
they have cast off restraint in my presence.

935

It lives on a cliff where it spends the night;
its stronghold is on a rocky crag.

936

He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it,
but His eyes watch over their ways.

937

He covers His hands with lightning
and commands it to hit its mark.

938

It roams the mountains for its pastureland,
searching for anything green.

939

I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned.

940

For my arguments are without flaw;
one who has perfect knowledge is with you.

941

in order to turn a person from his actions
and suppress his pride.

942

Job opens his mouth in vain
and multiplies words without knowledge.

943

He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute him and yet had condemned him.

944

Lay a hand on him.
You will remember the battle
and never repeat it!

945

When she proudly spreads her wings,
she laughs at the horse and its rider.

946

Now men cannot even look at the sun
when it is in the skies,
after a wind has swept through and cleared them away.

947

For Job has declared, “I am righteous,
yet God has deprived me of justice.

948

It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing
and concealed from the birds of the sky.

949

It scoffs at the noise of the village
and never hears the shouts of a driver.

950

Can you command the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you?

951

I would learn how He would answer me;
and understand what He would say to me.

952

From there it searches for prey;
its eyes penetrate the distance.

953

Can you depend on it because its strength is great?
Would you leave it to do your hard work?

954

I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.
I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.

955

Your wickedness affects a person like yourself,
and your righteousness another human being.

956

I directed their course and presided as chief.
I lived as a king among his troops,
like one who comforts those who mourn.


>

957

You said, “Listen now, and I will speak.
When I question you, you will inform Me.”

958

The rabble rise up at my right;
they trap my feet
and construct their siege ramp against me.

959

how much less when you complain
that you do not see Him,
that your case is before Him
and you are waiting for Him.

960

He has no equal on earth—
a creature devoid of fear!

961

City officials stopped talking
and covered their mouths with their hands.

962

Would I lie about my case?
My wound is incurable,
though I am without transgression.”

964

He cuts a shaft far from human habitation,
in places unknown to those who walk above ground.
Suspended far away from people,
the miners swing back and forth.

965

But if they do not obey,
they will cross the river of death
and die without knowledge.

966

when water becomes as hard as stone,
and the surface of the watery depths is frozen?

967

Then there comes a roaring sound;
God thunders with His majestic voice.
He does not restrain the lightning
when His rumbling voice is heard.

968

God does not need to examine a person further,
that one should approach Him in court.

969

Then I would speak and not fear Him.
But that is not the case; I am on my own.


>

970

She forgets that a foot may crush them
or that some wild animal may trample them.

971

where then is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?

972

The thunder declares His presence;
the cattle also, the approaching storm.


>

973

Look, I waited for your conclusions;
I listened to your insights
as you sought for words.

974

They bray among the shrubs;
they huddle beneath the thistles.

975

They are living on the slopes of the wadis,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

976

His flesh wastes away to nothing,
and his unseen bones stick out.

977

Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
and I have heard these very words:

978

Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out
or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion?

979

But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.

980

You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it;
You scatter me in the storm.

981

He throws me into the mud,
and I have become like dust and ashes.

982

If I smiled at them, they couldn’t believe it;
they were thrilled at the light of my countenance.

983

Indeed, God does not listen to empty cries,
and the Almighty does not take note of it—

984

Have you comprehended the extent of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

985

Let us judge for ourselves what is right;
let us decide together what is good.

986

I am churning within and cannot rest;
days of suffering confront me.

987

After a word from me they did not speak again;
my speech settled on them like dew.

988

Then an upright man could reason with Him,
and I would escape from my Judge forever.

989

You whose clothes get hot
when the south wind brings calm to the land,

990

In the dark they break into houses;
by day they lock themselves in,
never experiencing the light.

991

Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you,
for there is still more to be said on God’s behalf.

992

He keeps company with evildoers
and walks with wicked men.

993

“Surely our opponents are destroyed,
and fire has consumed what they left behind.”

994

Drenched by mountain rains,
they huddle against the rocks, shelterless.

995

The noblemen’s voices were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

996

when the dust hardens like cast metal
and the clods of dirt stick together?

997

I will get my knowledge from a distant place
and ascribe justice to my Maker.

998

But Job has not directed his argument to me,
and I will not respond to him with your arguments.

999

so that godless men should not rule
or ensnare the people.

1000

which the clouds pour out
and shower abundantly on mankind.