Bildad Speaks

18 Then Bildad the Shuhite(A) replied:

How long until you stop talking?
Show some sense, and then we can talk.
Why are we regarded as cattle,
as stupid in your sight?
You who tear yourself in anger[a]
should the earth be abandoned on your account,
or a rock be removed from its place?

Yes, the light(B) of the wicked(C) is extinguished;
the flame of his fire does not glow.
The light in his tent grows dark,(D)
and the lamp beside him is put out.

His powerful stride is shortened,
and his own schemes trip him up.(E)
For his own feet lead him into a net,
and he strays into its mesh.
A trap catches him by the heel;
a noose seizes him.
10 A rope lies hidden for him on the ground,
and a snare waits for him along the path.
11 Terrors frighten him on every side(F)
and harass him at every step.
12 His strength is depleted;
disaster lies ready for him to stumble.[b]

13 Parts of his skin are eaten away;
death’s firstborn consumes his limbs.
14 He is ripped from the security of his tent
and marched away to the king of terrors.
15 Nothing he owned remains in his tent.
Burning sulfur(G) is scattered over his home.
16 His roots below dry up,
and his branches above wither away.(H)
17 All memory(I) of him perishes from the earth;
he has no name anywhere.[c]
18 He is driven from light to darkness
and chased from the inhabited world.
19 He has no children or descendants among his people,
no survivor where he used to live.(J)
20 Those in the west are appalled(K) at his fate,
while those in the east tremble in horror.

21 Indeed, such is the dwelling of the unjust man,
and this is the place of the one who does not know God.(L)

Job’s Reply to Bildad

19 Then Job answered:

How long will you torment me
and crush me with words?
You have humiliated me ten times now,
and you mistreat[d] me without shame.(M)
Even if it is true that I have sinned,
my mistake concerns only[e] me.
If you really want to appear superior(N) to me
and would use my disgrace as evidence against me,
then understand that it is God who has wronged me
and caught me in his net.(O)
I cry out, “Violence!” but get no response;(P)
I call for help, but there is no justice.
He has blocked(Q) my way so that I cannot pass through;
he has veiled my paths with darkness.(R)
He has stripped me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He tears me down on every side so that I am ruined.[f]
He uproots my hope like a tree.(S)
11 His anger(T) burns against me,
and he regards me as one of his enemies.(U)
12 His troops advance together;
they construct a ramp[g] against me
and camp(V) around my tent.
13 He has removed my brothers from me;
my acquaintances have abandoned me.(W)
14 My relatives stop coming by,
and my close friends have forgotten me.
15 My house guests[h] and female servants regard me as a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.(X)
16 I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even if I beg him with my own mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife,
and my own family[i] finds me repulsive.
18 Even young boys scorn me.
When I stand up, they mock me.(Y)
19 All of my best friends[j] despise me,(Z)
and those I love have turned against me.(AA)
20 My skin and my flesh cling to my bones;
I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.
21 Have mercy on me, my friends,(AB) have mercy,
for God’s hand(AC) has struck me.(AD)
22 Why do you persecute me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?

23 I wish that my words were written down,
that they were recorded on a scroll
24 or were inscribed in stone forever
by an iron stylus and lead!
25 But I know that my Redeemer lives,[k](AE)
and at the end he will stand on the dust.(AF)
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed,[l]
yet I will see God in[m] my flesh.(AG)
27 I will see him myself;
my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger.[n]
My heart longs[o] within me.(AH)

28 If you say, “How will we pursue him,
since the root of the problem lies with him?” [p]
29 then be afraid of the sword,
because wrath brings punishment by the sword,(AI)
so that you may know there is a judgment.

Footnotes

  1. 18:4 Lit He who tears himself in his anger
  2. 18:12 Or disaster hungers for him
  3. 18:17 Or name in the streets
  4. 19:3 Hb obscure
  5. 19:4 Lit mistake lives with
  6. 19:10 Lit gone
  7. 19:12 Lit they raise up their way
  8. 19:15 Or The resident aliens in my household
  9. 19:17 Lit and the sons of my belly
  10. 19:19 Lit of the men of my council
  11. 19:25 Or know my living Redeemer
  12. 19:26 Lit skin which they destroyed, or skin they destroyed in this way
  13. 19:26 Or apart from
  14. 19:27 Or not a stranger
  15. 19:27 Lit My kidneys grow faint
  16. 19:28 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss read me

Paul’s Commendation of Phoebe

16 I commend to you(A) our sister Phoebe, who is a servant[a] of the church in Cenchreae.(B) So you should welcome her in the Lord(C) in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in whatever matter she may require your help. For indeed she has been a benefactor of many—and of me also.

Greeting to Roman Christians

Give my greetings to Prisca[b] and Aquila,(D) my coworkers in(E) Christ Jesus,(F) who risked their own necks for my life. Not only do I thank them, but so do all the Gentile churches. Greet also the church that meets in their home.(G) Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert[c](H) to Christ from Asia.[d](I) Greet Mary,[e] who has worked very hard for you.[f] Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews[g](J) and fellow prisoners.(K) They are noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles,[h] and they were also in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.(L) 11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.[i] Greet those who belong to the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, who has worked very hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus,(M) chosen in the Lord; also his mother—and mine. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.(N) 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss.(O) All the churches of Christ send you greetings.

Warning against Divisive People

17 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned.(P) Avoid them,(Q) 18 because such people do not serve our Lord Christ(R) but their own appetites.[j](S) They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words.(T)

Paul’s Gracious Conclusion

19 The report of your obedience has reached everyone.(U) Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil.(V) 20 The God of peace(W) will soon crush Satan(X) under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.(Y)

21 Timothy,(Z) my coworker, and Lucius,(AA) Jason,(AB) and Sosipater,(AC) my fellow countrymen, greet you.

22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter,(AD) greet you in the Lord.[k]

23 Gaius,(AE) who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus,(AF) the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.[l]

Glory to God

25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you(AG) according to my gospel and the proclamation about Jesus Christ,(AH) according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent(AI) for long ages(AJ) 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures,(AK) according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith(AL) among all the Gentiles— 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ—to him be the glory forever![m](AM) Amen.

Footnotes

  1. 16:1 Others interpret this term in a technical sense: deacon, or deaconess, or minister, or courier
  2. 16:3 Traditionally, Priscilla, as in Ac 18:2,18,26
  3. 16:5 Lit the firstfruits
  4. 16:5 Other mss read Achaia
  5. 16:6 Or Maria
  6. 16:6 Other mss read us
  7. 16:7 Or family members
  8. 16:7 Or They are noteworthy among the apostles
  9. 16:11 Or family member
  10. 16:18 Lit belly
  11. 16:22 Or letter in the Lord, greet you
  12. 16:23 Some mss include v. 24: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
  13. 16:25–27 Other mss have these vv. at the end of chap. 14 or 15.

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