Job 10-12

New King James Version

⁸ ‘Your^(D) hands have made me and fashioned me,
An intricate unity;
Yet You would ^(E)destroy me.
⁹ Remember, I pray, ^(F)that You have made me like clay.
And will You turn me into dust again?
^10 (G)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 have granted me life and favor,
And Your care has preserved my spirit.

¹³ ‘And these things You have hidden in Your heart;
I know that this was with You:
¹⁴ If I sin, then ^(H)You mark me,
And will not acquit me of my iniquity.
¹⁵ If I am wicked, ^(I)woe to me;
^(J)Even if I am righteous, I ^[b]cannot lift up my head.
I am full of disgrace;
^(K)See my misery!
¹⁶ If my head is exalted,
^(L)You hunt me like a fierce lion,
And again You show Yourself awesome against me.
¹⁷ You renew Your witnesses against me,
And increase Your indignation toward me;
Changes and war are ever with me.

¹⁸ ‘Why^(M) then have You brought me out of the womb?
Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!
¹⁹ I would have been as though I had not been.
I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.
^20 (N)Are not my days few?
Cease! ^(O)Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort,
²¹ Before I go to the place from which I shall not return,
^(P)To the land of darkness ^(Q)and the shadow of death,
²² A land as dark as darkness itself,
As the shadow of death, without any order,
Where even the light is like darkness.’ ”

² “Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should ^[c]a man full of talk be vindicated?
³ Should your empty talk make men ^[d]hold their peace?
And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?
⁴ For you have said,
^(R)‘My doctrine is pure,
And I am clean in your eyes.’
⁵ But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
⁶ That He would show you the secrets of wisdom!
For they would double your prudence.
Know therefore that ^(S)God ^[e]exacts from you
Less than your iniquity deserves.

⁷ “Can^(T) you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher than heaven—what can you do?
Deeper than ^[f]Sheol—what can you know?
⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.

¹⁰ “If^(U) He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,
Then who can ^[g]hinder Him?
¹¹ For ^(V)He knows deceitful men;
He sees wickedness also.
Will He not then consider it?
¹² For an ^(W)empty-headed man will be wise,
When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.

¹³ “If you would ^(X)prepare your heart,
And ^(Y)stretch out your hands toward Him;
¹⁴ If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,
And ^(Z)would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
^15 (AA)Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;
Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;
¹⁶ Because you would ^(AB)forget your misery,
And remember it as waters that have passed away,
¹⁷ And your life ^(AC)would be brighter than noonday.
Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.
¹⁸ And you would be secure, because there is hope;
Yes, you would dig around you, and ^(AD)take your rest in safety.
¹⁹ You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;
Yes, many would court your favor.
²⁰ But ^(AE)the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And they shall not escape,
And ^(AF)their hope—^[h]loss of life!”

² “No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!
³ But I have ^[i]understanding as well as you;
I am not ^(AG)inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

⁴ “I^(AH) am one mocked by his friends,
Who ^(AI)called on God, and He answered him,
The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
⁵ A ^[j]lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for ^(AJ)those whose feet slip.
^6 (AK)The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.

⁷ “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
⁸ Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
⁹ Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
^10 (AL)In whose hand is the ^[k]life of every living thing,
And the ^(AM)breath of ^[l]all mankind?
¹¹ Does not the ear test words
And the ^[m]mouth taste its food?
¹² Wisdom is with aged men,
And with ^[n]length of days, understanding.

¹³ “With Him are ^(AN)wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.
¹⁴ If ^(AO)He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
¹⁵ If He ^(AP)withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He ^(AQ)sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
¹⁶ With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.
¹⁸ He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.
¹⁹ He leads ^[o]princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.
^20 (AR)He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.
^21 (AS)He pours contempt on princes,
And ^[p]disarms the mighty.
²² He ^(AT)uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.
^23 (AU)He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He ^[q]enlarges nations, and guides them.
²⁴ He takes away the ^[r]understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And ^(AV)makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
^25 (AW)They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them ^(AX)stagger like a drunken man.