Job 18-20

New King James Version

² “How long till you put an end to words?
Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.
³ Why are we counted ^(B)as beasts,
And regarded as stupid in your sight?
^4 (C)You^[a] who tear yourself in anger,
Shall the earth be forsaken for you?
Or shall the rock be removed from its place?

⁵ “The^(D) light of the wicked indeed goes out,
And the flame of his fire does not shine.
⁶ The light is dark in his tent,
^(E)And his lamp beside him is put out.
⁷ The steps of his strength are shortened,
And ^(F)his own counsel casts him down.
⁸ For ^(G)he is cast into a net by his own feet,
And he walks into a snare.
⁹ The net takes him by the heel,
And ^(H)a snare lays hold of him.
¹⁰ A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the road.
^11 (I)Terrors frighten him on every side,
And drive him to his feet.
¹² His strength is starved,
And ^(J)destruction is ready at his side.
¹³ It devours patches of his skin;
The firstborn of death devours his ^[b]limbs.
¹⁴ He is uprooted from ^(K)the shelter of his tent,
And they parade him before the king of terrors.
¹⁵ They dwell in his tent who are none of his;
Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.
^16 (L)His roots are dried out below,
And his branch withers above.
^17 (M)The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name ^[c]among the renowned.
^18 [d]He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.
^19 (N)He has neither son nor posterity among his people,
Nor any remaining in his dwellings.
²⁰ Those ^[e]in the west are astonished ^(O)at his day,
As those ^[f]in the east are frightened.
²¹ Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who ^(P)does not know God.”

² “How long will you torment my soul,
And break me in pieces with words?
³ These ten times you have ^[g]reproached me;
You are not ashamed that you ^[h]have wronged me.
⁴ And if indeed I have erred,
My error remains with me.
⁵ If indeed you ^(Q)exalt yourselves against me,
And plead my disgrace against me,
⁶ Know then that ^(R)God has wronged me,
And has surrounded me with His net.

⁷ “If I cry out concerning ^[i]wrong, I am not heard.
If I cry aloud, there is no justice.
^8 (S)He has ^[j]fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass;
And He has set darkness in my paths.
^9 (T)He has stripped me of my glory,
And taken the crown from my head.
¹⁰ He breaks me down on every side,
And I am gone;
My ^(U)hope He has uprooted like a tree.
¹¹ He has also kindled His wrath against me,
And ^(V)He counts me as one of His enemies.
¹² His troops come together
And build up their road against me;
They encamp all around my tent.

¹³ “He^(W) has removed my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
¹⁴ My relatives have failed,
And my close friends have forgotten me.
¹⁵ Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants,
Count me as a stranger;
I am an alien in their sight.
¹⁶ I call my servant, but he gives no answer;
I beg him with my mouth.
¹⁷ My breath is offensive to my wife,
And I am ^[k]repulsive to the children of my own body.
¹⁸ Even ^(X)young children despise me;
I arise, and they speak against me.
^19 (Y)All my close friends abhor me,
And those whom I love have turned against me.
^20 (Z)My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

²¹ “Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has struck me!
²² Why do you ^(AA)persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?

²³ “Oh, that my words were written!
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
²⁴ That they were engraved on a rock
With an iron pen and lead, forever!
²⁵ For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
²⁶ And after my skin is ^[l]destroyed, this I know,
That ^(AB)in my flesh I shall see God,
²⁷ Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my ^[m]heart yearns within me!
²⁸ If you should say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’—
Since the root of the matter is found in me,
²⁹ Be afraid of the sword for yourselves;
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
That you may know there is a judgment.”

² “Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer,
Because of the turmoil within me.
³ I have heard the rebuke ^[n]that reproaches me,
And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.

⁴ “Do you not know this of ^(AD)old,
Since man was placed on earth,
^5 (AE)That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a ^(AF)moment?
^6 (AG)Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens,
And his head reaches to the clouds,
⁷ Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
⁸ He will fly away ^(AH)like a dream, and not be found;
Yes, he ^(AI)will be chased away like a vision of the night.
⁹ The eye that saw him will see him no more,
Nor will his place behold him anymore.
¹⁰ His children will seek the favor of the poor,
And his hands will restore his wealth.
¹¹ His bones are full of ^(AJ)his youthful vigor,
^(AK)But it will lie down with him in the dust.

¹² “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he hides it under his tongue,
¹³ Though he spares it and does not forsake it,
But still keeps it in his ^[o]mouth,
¹⁴ Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
It becomes cobra venom within him.
¹⁵ He swallows down riches
And vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
¹⁶ He will suck the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue will slay him.
¹⁷ He will not see ^(AL)the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
¹⁸ He will restore that for which he labored,
And will not swallow it down;
From the proceeds of business
He will get no enjoyment.
¹⁹ For he has ^[p]oppressed and forsaken the poor,
He has violently seized a house which he did not build.

²⁰ “Because^(AM) he knows no quietness in his ^[q]heart,
He will not save anything he desires.
²¹ Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore his well-being will not last.
²² In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
Every hand of ^[r]misery will come against him.
²³ When he is about to fill his stomach,
God will cast on him the fury of His wrath,
And will rain it on him while he is eating.
^24 (AN)He will flee from the iron weapon;
A bronze bow will pierce him through.
²⁵ It is drawn, and comes out of the body;
Yes, ^(AO)the glittering point comes out of his ^[s]gall.
^(AP)Terrors come upon him;
²⁶ Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
^(AQ)An unfanned fire will consume him;
It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.
²⁷ The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.
²⁸ The increase of his house will depart,
And his goods will flow away in the day of His ^(AR)wrath.
^29 (AS)This is the portion from God for a wicked man,
The heritage appointed to him by God.”