Job 24-30

New International Version

24 “Why does the Almighty not set times^(A) for judgment?^(B)
    Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?^(C)
2 There are those who move boundary stones;^(D)
    they pasture flocks they have stolen.^(E)
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
    and take the widow’s ox in pledge.^(F)
4 They thrust the needy^(G) from the path
    and force all the poor^(H) of the land into hiding.^(I)
5 Like wild donkeys^(J) in the desert,
    the poor go about their labor^(K) of foraging food;
    the wasteland^(L) provides food for their children.
⁶ They gather fodder^(M) in the fields
    and glean in the vineyards^(N) of the wicked.^(O)
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
    they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.^(P)
8 They are drenched^(Q) by mountain rains
    and hug^(R) the rocks for lack of shelter.^(S)
9 The fatherless^(T) child is snatched^(U) from the breast;
    the infant of the poor is seized^(V) for a debt.^(W)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;^(X)
    they carry the sheaves,^(Y) but still go hungry.
¹¹ They crush olives among the terraces^[a];
    they tread the winepresses,^(Z) yet suffer thirst.^(AA)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.^(AB)
    But God charges no one with wrongdoing.^(AC)

¹³ “There are those who rebel against the light,^(AD)
    who do not know its ways
    or stay in its paths.^(AE)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
    kills^(AF) the poor and needy,^(AG)
    and in the night steals forth like a thief.^(AH)
15 The eye of the adulterer^(AI) watches for dusk;^(AJ)
    he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’^(AK)
    and he keeps his face concealed.
¹⁶ In the dark, thieves break into houses,^(AL)
    but by day they shut themselves in;
    they want nothing to do with the light.^(AM)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
    they make friends with the terrors^(AN) of darkness.^(AO)

¹⁸ “Yet they are foam^(AP) on the surface of the water;^(AQ)
    their portion of the land is cursed,^(AR)
    so that no one goes to the vineyards.^(AS)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,^(AT)
    so the grave^(AU) snatches away those who have sinned.
²⁰ The womb forgets them,
    the worm^(AV) feasts on them;^(AW)
the wicked are no longer remembered^(AX)
    but are broken like a tree.^(AY)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
    and to the widow they show no kindness.^(AZ)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;^(BA)
    though they become established,^(BB) they have no assurance of life.^(BC)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,^(BD)
    but his eyes^(BE) are on their ways.^(BF)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;^(BG)
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;^(BH)
    they are cut off like heads of grain.^(BI)

²⁵ “If this is not so, who can prove me false
    and reduce my words to nothing?”^(BJ)

² “Dominion and awe belong to God;^(BL)
    he establishes order in the heights of heaven.^(BM)
3 Can his forces be numbered?
    On whom does his light not rise?^(BN)
4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
    How can one born of woman be pure?^(BO)
5 If even the moon^(BP) is not bright
    and the stars are not pure in his eyes,^(BQ)
6 how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—
    a human being,^(BR) who is only a worm!”^(BS)

² “How you have helped the powerless!^(BT)
    How you have saved the arm that is feeble!^(BU)
3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
    And what great insight^(BV) you have displayed!
⁴ Who has helped you utter these words?
    And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?^(BW)

⁵ “The dead are in deep anguish,^(BX)
    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
⁶ The realm of the dead^(BY) is naked before God;
    Destruction^[b](BZ) lies uncovered.^(CA)
7 He spreads out the northern skies^(CB) over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.^(CC)
8 He wraps up the waters^(CD) in his clouds,^(CE)
    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
⁹ He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading his clouds^(CF) over it.
¹⁰ He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters^(CG)
    for a boundary between light and darkness.^(CH)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,^(CI)
    aghast at his rebuke.
¹² By his power he churned up the sea;^(CJ)
    by his wisdom^(CK) he cut Rahab^(CL) to pieces.
¹³ By his breath the skies^(CM) became fair;
    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.^(CN)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
    how faint the whisper^(CO) we hear of him!^(CP)
    Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”^(CQ)

² “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,^(CS)
    the Almighty,^(CT) who has made my life bitter,^(CU)
3 as long as I have life within me,
    the breath of God^(CV) in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not say anything wicked,
    and my tongue will not utter lies.^(CW)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.^(CX)
6 I will maintain my innocence^(CY) and never let go of it;
    my conscience^(CZ) will not reproach me as long as I live.^(DA)

⁷ “May my enemy be like the wicked,^(DB)
    my adversary^(DC) like the unjust!
⁸ For what hope have the godless^(DD) when they are cut off,
    when God takes away their life?^(DE)
9 Does God listen to their cry
    when distress comes upon them?^(DF)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?^(DG)
    Will they call on God at all times?

¹¹ “I will teach you about the power of God;
    the ways^(DH) of the Almighty I will not conceal.^(DI)
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
    Why then this meaningless talk?

¹³ “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
    the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:^(DJ)
14 However many his children,^(DK) their fate is the sword;^(DL)
    his offspring will never have enough to eat.^(DM)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
    and their widows will not weep for them.^(DN)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust^(DO)
    and clothes like piles of clay,^(DP)
17 what he lays up^(DQ) the righteous will wear,^(DR)
    and the innocent will divide his silver.^(DS)
18 The house^(DT) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,^(DU)
    like a hut^(DV) made by a watchman.
¹⁹ He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;^(DW)
    when he opens his eyes, all is gone.^(DX)
20 Terrors^(DY) overtake him like a flood;^(DZ)
    a tempest snatches him away in the night.^(EA)
21 The east wind^(EB) carries him off, and he is gone;^(EC)
    it sweeps him out of his place.^(ED)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy^(EE)
    as he flees headlong^(EF) from its power.^(EG)
23 It claps its hands^(EH) in derision
    and hisses him out of his place.”^(EI)

¹² But where can wisdom be found?^(FA)
    Where does understanding dwell?^(FB)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;^(FC)
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.^(FD)
14 The deep^(FE) says, “It is not in me”;
    the sea^(FF) says, “It is not with me.”
¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
    nor can its price be weighed out in silver.^(FG)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,^(FH)
    with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.^(FI)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,^(FJ)
    nor can it be had for jewels of gold.^(FK)
18 Coral^(FL) and jasper^(FM) are not worthy of mention;
    the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.^(FN)
19 The topaz^(FO) of Cush^(FP) cannot compare with it;
    it cannot be bought with pure gold.^(FQ)

²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?^(FR)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    concealed even from the birds in the sky.^(FS)
22 Destruction^[d](FT) and Death^(FU) say,
    “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
²³ God understands the way to it
    and he alone^(FV) knows where it dwells,^(FW)
24 for he views the ends of the earth^(FX)
    and sees everything under the heavens.^(FY)
25 When he established the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,^(FZ)
26 when he made a decree for the rain^(GA)
    and a path for the thunderstorm,^(GB)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
    he confirmed it and tested it.^(GC)
28 And he said to the human race,
    “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
    and to shun evil^(GD) is understanding.”^(GE)

² “How I long for the months gone by,^(GG)
    for the days when God watched over me,^(GH)
3 when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!^(GI)
4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
    when God’s intimate friendship^(GJ) blessed my house,^(GK)
5 when the Almighty was still with me
    and my children^(GL) were around me,^(GM)
6 when my path was drenched with cream^(GN)
    and the rock^(GO) poured out for me streams of olive oil.^(GP)

⁷ “When I went to the gate^(GQ) of the city
    and took my seat in the public square,
⁸ the young men saw me and stepped aside^(GR)
    and the old men rose to their feet;^(GS)
9 the chief men refrained from speaking^(GT)
    and covered their mouths with their hands;^(GU)
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,^(GV)
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.^(GW)
11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
    and those who saw me commended me,^(GX)
12 because I rescued the poor^(GY) who cried for help,
    and the fatherless^(GZ) who had none to assist them.^(HA)
13 The one who was dying blessed me;^(HB)
    I made the widow’s^(HC) heart sing.
¹⁴ I put on righteousness^(HD) as my clothing;
    justice was my robe and my turban.^(HE)
15 I was eyes^(HF) to the blind
    and feet to the lame.^(HG)
16 I was a father to the needy;^(HH)
    I took up the case^(HI) of the stranger.^(HJ)
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
    and snatched the victims^(HK) from their teeth.^(HL)

¹⁸ “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,
    my days as numerous as the grains of sand.^(HM)
19 My roots will reach to the water,^(HN)
    and the dew will lie all night on my branches.^(HO)
20 My glory will not fade;^(HP)
    the bow^(HQ) will be ever new in my hand.’^(HR)

²¹ “People listened to me expectantly,
    waiting in silence for my counsel.^(HS)
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;^(HT)
    my words fell gently on their ears.^(HU)
23 They waited for me as for showers
    and drank in my words as the spring rain.^(HV)
24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
    the light of my face^(HW) was precious to them.^[e](HX)
25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;^(HY)
    I dwelt as a king^(HZ) among his troops;
    I was like one who comforts mourners.^(IA)

30 “But now they mock me,^(IB)
    men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
    to put with my sheep dogs.^(IC)
2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,
    since their vigor had gone from them?
³ Haggard from want and hunger,
    they roamed^[f] the parched land^(ID)
    in desolate wastelands^(IE) at night.^(IF)
4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs,^(IG)
    and their food^[g] was the root of the broom bush.^(IH)
5 They were banished from human society,
    shouted at as if they were thieves.
⁶ They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,
    among the rocks and in holes in the ground.^(II)
7 They brayed^(IJ) among the bushes^(IK)
    and huddled in the undergrowth.
⁸ A base and nameless brood,^(IL)
    they were driven out of the land.^(IM)

⁹ “And now those young men mock me^(IN) in song;^(IO)
    I have become a byword^(IP) among them.
¹⁰ They detest me^(IQ) and keep their distance;
    they do not hesitate to spit in my face.^(IR)
11 Now that God has unstrung my bow^(IS) and afflicted me,^(IT)
    they throw off restraint^(IU) in my presence.
¹² On my right^(IV) the tribe^[h] attacks;
    they lay snares^(IW) for my feet,^(IX)
    they build their siege ramps against me.^(IY)
13 They break up my road;^(IZ)
    they succeed in destroying me.^(JA)
    ‘No one can help him,’ they say.
¹⁴ They advance as through a gaping breach;^(JB)
    amid the ruins they come rolling in.
¹⁵ Terrors^(JC) overwhelm me;^(JD)
    my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
    my safety vanishes like a cloud.^(JE)

¹⁶ “And now my life ebbs away;^(JF)
    days of suffering grip me.^(JG)
17 Night pierces my bones;
    my gnawing pains never rest.^(JH)
18 In his great power^(JI) God becomes like clothing to me^[i];
    he binds me like the neck of my garment.
¹⁹ He throws me into the mud,^(JJ)
    and I am reduced to dust and ashes.^(JK)

²⁰ “I cry out to you,^(JL) God, but you do not answer;^(JM)
    I stand up, but you merely look at me.
²¹ You turn on me ruthlessly;^(JN)
    with the might of your hand^(JO) you attack me.^(JP)
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;^(JQ)
    you toss me about in the storm.^(JR)
23 I know you will bring me down to death,^(JS)
    to the place appointed for all the living.^(JT)

²⁴ “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man^(JU)
    when he cries for help in his distress.^(JV)
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?^(JW)
    Has not my soul grieved for the poor?^(JX)
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
    when I looked for light, then came darkness.^(JY)
27 The churning inside me never stops;^(JZ)
    days of suffering confront me.^(KA)
28 I go about blackened,^(KB) but not by the sun;
    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.^(KC)
29 I have become a brother of jackals,^(KD)
    a companion of owls.^(KE)
30 My skin grows black^(KF) and peels;^(KG)
    my body burns with fever.^(KH)
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning,^(KI)
    and my pipe^(KJ) to the sound of wailing.