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The Third Speech of Bildad

25 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied,

“God is King. He should be feared.
    He establishes peace in the highest parts of heaven.
Can anyone count his troops?
    Is there anyone his light doesn’t shine on?
How can human beings be right with God?
    How can mere people really be pure?
Even the moon isn’t bright
    and the stars aren’t pure in God’s eyes.
So how about human beings? They are like maggots.
    How about mere people? They are like worms.”

Job’s Reply

26 Job replied,

“Bildad, you haven’t helped people who aren’t strong!
    You haven’t saved people who are weak!
You haven’t offered advice to those who aren’t wise!
    In fact, you haven’t understood anything at all!
Who helped you say these things?
    Whose spirit was speaking through you?

“The spirits of the dead are suffering greatly.
    So are those that are under the waters.
    And so are all those that live in them.
The place of the dead is naked in the sight of God.
    The grave lies open in front of him.
He spreads out the northern skies over empty space.
    He hangs the earth over nothing.
He wraps up water in his clouds.
    They are heavy, but they don’t burst.
He covers the face of the full moon.
    He spreads his clouds over it.
10 He marks out the place where the sky meets the sea.
    He marks out the boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens shake.
    They are terrified when his anger blazes out.
12 With his power he stirred up the oceans.
    In his wisdom he cut the sea monster Rahab to pieces.
13 His breath made the skies bright and clear.
    His hand wounded the serpent that glides through the sea.
14 Those are only on the edges of what he does.
    They are only the soft whispers that we hear from him.
    So who can understand how very powerful he is?”

Job’s Final Reply to His Friends

27 Job continued to speak. He said,

“God hasn’t treated me fairly.
    The Mighty One has made my life bitter.
You can be sure that God lives.
    And here’s something else you can be sure of.
As long as I have life
    and God gives me breath,
my mouth won’t say evil things.
    My lips won’t tell lies.
I’ll never admit you people are right.
    Until I die, I’ll say I’m telling the truth.
I’ll continue to say I’m right.
    I’ll never let go of that.
    I won’t blame myself as long as I live.

“May my enemies suffer like sinful people!
    May my attackers be punished like those who aren’t fair!
What hope do ungodly people have when their lives are cut short?
    What hope do they have when God takes away their lives?
God won’t listen to their cry
    when trouble comes on them.
10 They won’t take delight in the Mighty One.
    They’ll never call out to God.

11 “I’ll teach all of you about God’s power.
    I won’t hide the things the Mighty One does.
12 You have seen those things yourselves.
    So why do you continue your useless talk?

13 “Here’s what God does to sinful people.
    Here’s what those who are mean receive from the Mighty One.
14 All their children will be killed by swords.
    They’ll never have enough to eat.
15 A plague will kill those who are left alive.
    The widows of sinful men
    won’t even weep over their own children.
16 Sinners might store up silver like dust
    and clothes like piles of clay.
17 But people who do what is right will wear those clothes.
    People who haven’t done anything wrong
    will divide up that silver.
18 The house an evil person builds is like a moth’s cocoon.
    It’s like a hut that’s made by someone on guard duty.
19 Sinful people lie down wealthy, but their wealth is taken away.
    When they open their eyes, everything is gone.
20 Terrors sweep over them like a flood.
    A storm takes them away during the night.
21 The east wind carries them off, and they are gone.
    It sweeps them out of their houses.
22 It blows against them without mercy.
    They try to escape from its power.
23 It claps its hands and makes fun of them.
    It hisses them out of their houses.”

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