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27 And Job continued ·speaking [L his discourse]:

“·As surely as God lives [By the living God], who has ·taken away [turned aside] my rights,
    ·the Almighty [Shaddai], who has made me ·unhappy [bitter],
as long as ·I am alive [my breath is in me]
    and God’s ·breath of life [L spirit; breath; Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7] is in my nose,
my lips will not speak ·evil [or falsehood],
    and my tongue will not ·tell [L mutter] ·a lie [deceit].
·I will never [Far be it from me to] ·agree [concede] you are right;
    until I ·die [expire], I will never ·stop saying I am innocent [L turn aside my innocence].
I will ·insist that I am right [L embrace my righteousness]; I will not ·back down [weaken].
    ·My conscience will never bother me [L My heart will not reproach my days].

“Let my enemies be like evil people,
    ·my foes [those who rise up against me] like ·those who are wrong [the guilty].
What hope do the wicked have when they ·die [L are cut off],
    when God ·takes their life away [requires their life]?
God will not listen to their cries
    when trouble comes to them.
10 ·They will not [Will they…?] find joy in ·the Almighty [Shaddai],
    ·even though [or will…?] they call out to God all the time.

11 “I will ·teach [instruct] you about the ·power [L hand] of God
    and will not ·hide [conceal] ·the ways of [L that which is with] ·the Almighty [Shaddai].
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
    ·So why are we having all this talk that means nothing [L Why have you become so meaningless/vaporous/vain]?

13 “Here is ·what God has planned for evil people [L the lot of evil people with God],
    and ·that the Almighty will give to cruel people [L the inheritance that the cruel receive from the Almighty/Shaddai]:
14 They may have many children, but the sword will kill them.
    Their ·children [L offspring] will never have enough ·to eat [L bread; food].
15 Then those who are left will die of disease and be buried,
    and the widows will not even cry for them.
16 ·The wicked [L They] may heap up silver like ·piles of dirt [dust]
    and ·have so many clothes they are like piles of clay [pile up clothes like mounds of earth/clay].
17 But ·good people [the righteous] will wear ·what evil people have gathered [L them],
    and the innocent will ·divide up [distribute among themselves] their silver.
18 ·The houses the wicked build are [L They will build their houses] like a ·spider’s web [or moth’s cocoon],
    like a ·hut [booth; shelter] that a guard builds.
19 ·The wicked are rich when they go to bed [L They may lie down wealthy],
    but ·they are rich for the last time [L not again];
    when they open their eyes, everything is gone.
20 ·Fears [Terrors] ·come over [overtake] them like ·a flood [waters],
    and a storm snatches them away in the night.
21 The east wind will ·carry them away [L lift them up], and then they are gone,
    because it sweeps them out of their place.
22 ·The wind [or God; L He; It] will hit them without mercy
    as they ·try to run away [flee] from ·its power [or his power/hand].
23 It will be as if ·the wind [or God; L he; it] is clapping ·its [or his] hands;
    ·it [or he] will ·whistle [or hiss] at them as they run from their place [C clapping and hissing are gestures of contempt].

27 Job continued his discourse, saying:

As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,(A)
and the Almighty who has made me bitter,(B)
as long as my breath is still in me
and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,(C)
my lips will not speak unjustly,
and my tongue will not utter deceit.
I will never affirm that you are right.
I will maintain my integrity[a](D) until I die.
I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go.
My conscience(E) will not accuse me as long as I live!

May my enemy be like the wicked
and my opponent like the unjust.
For what hope does the godless man(F) have when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?(G)
Will God hear his cry
when distress comes on him?
10 Will he delight(H) in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned.[b]
12 All of you have seen this for yourselves,
why do you keep up this empty talk?(I)

13 This is a wicked man’s lot(J) from God,
the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty.
14 Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword;
his descendants will never have enough food.
15 Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,
yet their widows will not weep for them.(K)
16 Though he piles up silver like dust
and heaps up a wardrobe like clay—
17 he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide up his silver.(L)
18 The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon
or a booth set up by a watchman.(M)
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, it is gone.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;(N)
a storm(O) wind sweeps him away at night.
21 An east wind picks him up, and he is gone;
it carries him away from his place.
22 It blasts at him without mercy,
while he flees desperately from its grasp.
23 It claps(P) its hands at him
and scorns him from its place.

Footnotes

  1. Job 27:5 Lit will not remove my integrity from me
  2. Job 27:11 Lit what is with the Almighty