Job 4-7

New International Version

² “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?^(B)
3 Think how you have instructed many,^(C)
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.^(D)
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;^(E)
    you have strengthened faltering knees.^(F)
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;^(G)
    it strikes^(H) you, and you are dismayed.^(I)
6 Should not your piety be your confidence^(J)
    and your blameless^(K) ways your hope?

⁷ “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?^(L)
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?^(M)
8 As I have observed,^(N) those who plow evil^(O)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.^(P)
9 At the breath of God^(Q) they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.^(R)
10 The lions may roar^(S) and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions^(T) are broken.^(U)
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,^(V)
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.^(W)

¹² “A word^(X) was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper^(Y) of it.^(Z)
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,^(AA)
14 fear and trembling^(AB) seized me
    and made all my bones shake.^(AC)
15 A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.^(AD)
16 It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:^(AE)
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?^(AF)
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?^(AG)
18 If God places no trust in his servants,^(AH)
    if he charges his angels with error,^(AI)
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,^(AJ)
    whose foundations^(AK) are in the dust,^(AL)
    who are crushed^(AM) more readily than a moth!^(AN)
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.^(AO)
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,^(AP)
    so that they die^(AQ) without wisdom?’^(AR)

⁸ “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.^(BH)
9 He performs wonders^(BI) that cannot be fathomed,^(BJ)
    miracles that cannot be counted.^(BK)
10 He provides rain for the earth;^(BL)
    he sends water on the countryside.^(BM)
11 The lowly he sets on high,^(BN)
    and those who mourn^(BO) are lifted^(BP) to safety.
¹² He thwarts the plans^(BQ) of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.^(BR)
13 He catches the wise^(BS) in their craftiness,^(BT)
    and the schemes of the wily are swept away.^(BU)
14 Darkness^(BV) comes upon them in the daytime;
    at noon they grope as in the night.^(BW)
15 He saves the needy^(BX) from the sword in their mouth;
    he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.^(BY)
16 So the poor^(BZ) have hope,
    and injustice shuts its mouth.^(CA)

¹⁷ “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;^(CB)
    so do not despise the discipline^(CC) of the Almighty.^[a](CD)
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;^(CE)
    he injures, but his hands also heal.^(CF)
19 From six calamities he will rescue^(CG) you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.^(CH)
20 In famine^(CI) he will deliver you from death,
    and in battle from the stroke of the sword.^(CJ)
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,^(CK)
    and need not fear^(CL) when destruction comes.^(CM)
22 You will laugh^(CN) at destruction and famine,^(CO)
    and need not fear the wild animals.^(CP)
23 For you will have a covenant^(CQ) with the stones^(CR) of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.^(CS)
24 You will know that your tent is secure;^(CT)
    you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.^(CU)
25 You will know that your children will be many,^(CV)
    and your descendants like the grass of the earth.^(CW)
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,^(CX)
    like sheaves gathered in season.^(CY)

²⁷ “We have examined this, and it is true.
    So hear it^(CZ) and apply it to yourself.”^(DA)

² “If only my anguish could be weighed
    and all my misery be placed on the scales!^(DB)
3 It would surely outweigh the sand^(DC) of the seas—
    no wonder my words have been impetuous.^(DD)
4 The arrows^(DE) of the Almighty^(DF) are in me,^(DG)
    my spirit drinks^(DH) in their poison;^(DI)
    God’s terrors^(DJ) are marshaled against me.^(DK)
5 Does a wild donkey^(DL) bray^(DM) when it has grass,
    or an ox bellow when it has fodder?^(DN)
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
    or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow^[b]?^(DO)
7 I refuse to touch it;
    such food makes me ill.^(DP)

⁸ “Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant what I hope for,^(DQ)
9 that God would be willing to crush^(DR) me,
    to let loose his hand and cut off my life!^(DS)
10 Then I would still have this consolation^(DT)—
    my joy in unrelenting pain^(DU)—
    that I had not denied the words^(DV) of the Holy One.^(DW)

¹¹ “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
    What prospects, that I should be patient?^(DX)
12 Do I have the strength of stone?
    Is my flesh bronze?^(DY)
13 Do I have any power to help myself,^(DZ)
    now that success has been driven from me?

¹⁴ “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend^(EA)
    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.^(EB)
15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,^(EC)
    as the streams that overflow
¹⁶ when darkened by thawing ice
    and swollen with melting snow,^(ED)
17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,
    and in the heat^(EE) vanish from their channels.
¹⁸ Caravans turn aside from their routes;
    they go off into the wasteland and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of Tema^(EF) look for water,
    the traveling merchants of Sheba^(EG) look in hope.
²⁰ They are distressed, because they had been confident;
    they arrive there, only to be disappointed.^(EH)
21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;
    you see something dreadful and are afraid.^(EI)
22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
    pay a ransom^(EJ) for me from your wealth,^(EK)
23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
    rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?^(EL)

²⁴ “Teach me, and I will be quiet;^(EM)
    show me where I have been wrong.^(EN)
25 How painful are honest words!^(EO)
    But what do your arguments prove?
²⁶ Do you mean to correct what I say,
    and treat my desperate words as wind?^(EP)
27 You would even cast lots^(EQ) for the fatherless^(ER)
    and barter away your friend.

²⁸ “But now be so kind as to look at me.
    Would I lie to your face?^(ES)
29 Relent, do not be unjust;^(ET)
    reconsider, for my integrity^(EU) is at stake.^[c](EV)
30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?^(EW)
    Can my mouth not discern^(EX) malice?

7 “Do not mortals have hard service^(EY) on earth?^(EZ)
    Are not their days like those of hired laborers?^(FA)
2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,^(FB)
    or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,^(FC)
3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
    and nights of misery have been assigned to me.^(FD)
4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’^(FE)
    The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.^(FF)
5 My body is clothed with worms^(FG) and scabs,
    my skin is broken and festering.^(FH)

⁶ “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,^(FI)
    and they come to an end without hope.^(FJ)
7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;^(FK)
    my eyes will never see happiness again.^(FL)
8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
    you will look for me, but I will be no more.^(FM)
9 As a cloud vanishes^(FN) and is gone,
    so one who goes down to the grave^(FO) does not return.^(FP)
10 He will never come to his house again;
    his place^(FQ) will know him no more.^(FR)

¹¹ “Therefore I will not keep silent;^(FS)
    I will speak out in the anguish^(FT) of my spirit,
    I will complain^(FU) in the bitterness of my soul.^(FV)
12 Am I the sea,^(FW) or the monster of the deep,^(FX)
    that you put me under guard?^(FY)
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
    and my couch will ease my complaint,^(FZ)
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
    and terrify^(GA) me with visions,^(GB)
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,^(GC)
    rather than this body of mine.^(GD)
16 I despise my life;^(GE) I would not live forever.^(GF)
    Let me alone;^(GG) my days have no meaning.^(GH)

¹⁷ “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
    that you give them so much attention,^(GI)
18 that you examine them every morning^(GJ)
    and test them^(GK) every moment?^(GL)
19 Will you never look away from me,^(GM)
    or let me alone even for an instant?^(GN)
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,^(GO)
    you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?^(GP)
    Have I become a burden to you?^[d](GQ)
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
    and forgive my sins?^(GR)
For I will soon lie down in the dust;^(GS)
    you will search for me, but I will be no more.”^(GT)