Add parallel Print Page Options

14 “Human beings have only a few days to live.
    Their lives are full of trouble.
They grow like flowers, and then they dry up.
    They are like shadows that quickly disappear.

“God, do you even notice them?
    Will you let them appear in your court?
Who can bring what is pure from something that isn’t pure?
    No one!
You decide how long anyone will live.
    You have established the number of his months.
    You have set a limit to the number of his days.
So look away from him. Leave him alone.
    Let him put in his time like a hired worker.

“At least there is hope for a tree.
    If it’s cut down, it will begin to grow again.
    New branches will appear on it.
Its roots may grow old in the ground.
    Its stump may die in the soil.
But when it smells water, it will begin to grow.
    It will send out new growth like a plant.
10 No man is like that. When he dies, he is buried in a grave.
    He takes his last breath. Then he is gone.
11 Water dries up from lakes.
    Riverbeds become empty and dry.
12 In the same way, people lie down and never get up.
    People won’t wake or rise from their sleep
    until the heavens are gone.

13 “I wish you would hide me in a grave!
    I wish you would cover me up until your anger passes by!
I wish you would set the time for me to spend in the grave
    and then bring me back up!
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
    All the days of my hard work
    I will wait for the time when you give me new life.
15 You will call out to me, and I will answer you.
    You will long for the person your hands have made.
16 Then you will count every step I take.
    But you won’t keep track of my sin.
17 The wrong things I’ve done will be sealed up in a bag.
    You will wipe out my sins by forgiving them.

18 “A mountain wears away and crumbles.
    A rock is moved from its place.
19 Water wears away stones.
    Storms wash away soil.
    In the same way, you destroy a person’s hope.
20 You overpower them completely, and then they’re gone.
    You change the way they look and send them to their graves.
21 If their children are honored, they don’t even know it.
    If their children are dishonored, they don’t even see it.
22 All they feel is the pain of their own bodies.
    They are full of sadness only for themselves.”

The Second Speech of Eliphaz

15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied,

“Job, would a wise person answer with a lot of meaningless talk?
    Would they fill their stomach with the hot east wind?
Would they argue with useless words?
    Would they give worthless speeches?
But you even cause others to lose their respect for God.
    You make it hard for them to be faithful to him.
Your sin makes you say evil things.
    You talk like people who twist the truth.
Your own mouth judges you, not mine.
    Your own lips witness against you.

“Are you the first man who was ever born?
    Were you created before the hills?
Do you listen in when God speaks with his angels?
    Do you think you are the only wise person?
What do you know that we don’t know?
    What understanding do you have that we don’t have?
10 People who are old and gray are on our side.
    And they are even older than your parents!
11 Aren’t God’s words of comfort enough for you?
    He speaks them to you gently.
12 Why have you let your wild ideas carry you away?
    Why do your eyes flash with anger?
13 Why do you get so angry with God?
    Why do words like those pour out of your mouth?

14 “Can human beings really be pure?
    Can those who are born really be right with God?
15 God doesn’t trust his holy angels.
    Even the heavens aren’t pure in his sight.
16 So he’ll certainly find fault with human beings.
    After all, they are evil and sinful.
    They drink up evil as if it were water.

17 “Listen to me. I’ll explain things to you.
    Let me tell you what I’ve seen.
18 I’ll tell you what those who are wise have said.
    They don’t hide anything they’ve received
    from their people of long ago.
19 The land was given only to those people.
    Their wisdom didn’t come from outsiders.
    And here’s what those who are wise have said.
20 Sinful people always suffer pain.
    Mean people suffer all their lives.
21 Terrifying sounds fill their ears.
    When everything seems to be going well,
    robbers attack them.
22 They lose all hope of escaping the darkness of death.
    They will certainly be killed by swords.
23 Like vultures, they look around for food.
    They know that the day they will die is near.
24 Suffering and pain terrify them.
    Their troubles overpower them,
    like a king ready to attack his enemies.
25 They shake their fists at God.
    They brag about themselves and oppose the Mighty One.
26 They boldly charge against him
    with their thick, strong shields.

27 “Their faces are very fat.
    Their stomachs hang out.
28 They’ll live in towns that have been destroyed.
    They’ll live in houses where no one else lives.
    The houses will crumble to pieces.
29 They won’t be rich anymore. Their wealth won’t last.
    Their property will no longer spread out over the land.
30 They won’t escape the darkness of death.
    A flame will dry up everything they have.
    The breath of God will blow them away.
31 Don’t let them fool themselves
    by trusting in what is worthless.
    They won’t get anything out of it.
32 Even before they die, they will dry up.
    No matter what they do, it won’t succeed.
33 They’ll be like vines
    that are stripped of their unripe grapes.
They’ll be like olive trees
    that drop their flowers.
34 People who are ungodly won’t have any children.
    Fire will burn up the tents of people who accept money
    from those who want special favors.
35 Instead of having children,
    ungodly people create suffering.
All they produce is evil.
    They are full of lies.”

Job’s Reply

16 Job replied,

“I’ve heard many of these things before.
    All of you are terrible at comforting me!
Your speeches go on forever.
    Won’t they ever end?
What’s wrong with you?
    Why do you keep on arguing?
If you and I changed places,
    I could say the same things you are saying.
I could make fine speeches against you.
    I could shake my head at you.
But what I might say would give you hope.
    My words of comfort would help you.

“If I speak, it doesn’t help me.
    And if I keep quiet, my pain doesn’t go away.
God has worn me out completely.
    He has destroyed my whole family.
People can see the condition he has put me in.
    My thin body stands as a witness against me.
God is angry with me.
    He attacks me and tears me up.
He grinds his teeth at me.
    He stares at me as if he were my enemy.
10 People make fun of me.
    They slap my face and laugh at me.
    All of them join together against me.
11 God has turned me over to sinful people.
    He has handed me over to them.
12 Everything was going well with me.
    But he broke me into pieces like a clay pot.
    He grabbed me by the neck and crushed me.
He has taken aim at me.
13     He shoots his arrows at me from all sides.
Without pity, he stabs me in the kidneys.
    He spills my insides on the ground.
14 He smashes through me as if I were a wall.
    He rushes at me like a fighting man.

15 “I’ve sewed rough clothing over my skin.
    All I can do is sit here in the dust.
16 My face is red from crying.
    I have dark circles under my eyes.
17 But I haven’t harmed anyone.
    My prayers to God are pure.

18 “Earth, please don’t cover up my blood!
    May God always hear my cry for help!
19 Even now my witness is in heaven.
    The one who speaks up for me is there.
20 My go-between is my friend
    as I pour out my tears to God.
21 He makes his appeal to God to help me
    as a person pleads for a friend.

22 “Only a few years will pass by.
    Then I’ll take the path of no return.

17 My strength is almost gone.
    I won’t live much longer.
    A grave is waiting for me.
People who make fun of me are all around me.
    I’m forced to watch as they attack me with their words.

“God, please pay the price to have me set free.
    Who else would put up money for me?
You have closed the minds of those who are trying to comfort me.
    They don’t understand that I haven’t done anything wrong.
    So don’t let them win the argument.
Suppose someone tells lies about their friends to get a reward.
    Then their own children will suffer for it.

“God has made an example of me.
    People spit in my face.
My eyes have grown weak because I’m so sad.
    My body is so thin it hardly casts a shadow.
People who claim to be honest
    are shocked when they see me.
Those who think they haven’t sinned
    are stirred up against me.
    They think I’m ungodly.
But godly people will keep doing what is right.
    Those who have clean hands will grow stronger.

10 “Come on, all of you! Try again!
    I can’t find a wise person among you.
11 My life is almost over. My plans are destroyed.
    Yet the desires of my heart
12 turn night into day.
    Even though it’s dark,
    ‘Light is nearby.’
13 Suppose the only home I can hope for is a grave.
    And suppose I make my bed in the darkness of death.
14 Suppose I say to the grave,
    ‘You are like a father to me.’
And suppose I say to its worms,
    ‘You are like a mother or sister to me.’
15 Then what hope do I have?
    Who can give me any hope?
16 Will hope go down to the gates of death with me?
    Will we go down together into the dust of the grave?”

Bible Gateway Recommends