Job 20:5-30:23
English Standard Version
5 (A)that the exulting of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
6 (B)Though his height mount up to the heavens,
and his head reach to the clouds,
7 he will perish forever like his own (C)dung;
those who have seen him will say, (D)‘Where is he?’
8 He will fly away like (E)a dream and not be found;
he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9 (F)The eye that saw him will see him no more,
nor will his place any more behold him.
10 His children will seek the favor of the poor,
and his hands will (G)give back his wealth.
11 His bones are full of his (H)youthful vigor,
but it will lie (I)down with him in the dust.
12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
though he hides it (J)under his tongue,
13 though he is loath to let it go
and holds it in his mouth,
14 yet his food is turned in his stomach;
it is the venom of (K)cobras 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;
(L)the tongue of a viper will kill him.
17 He will not look upon (M)the rivers,
the streams flowing with (N)honey and (O)curds.
18 He will (P)give back the fruit of his toil
and will not (Q)swallow it down;
from the profit of his trading
he will get no enjoyment.
19 For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;
he has seized a house that he did not build.
20 “Because he (R)knew no (S)contentment in his belly,
(T)he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.
21 There was nothing left after he had eaten;
therefore his prosperity will not endure.
22 In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress;
the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.
23 To fill his belly to the full,
God[a] will send his burning anger against him
and rain it upon him (U)into his body.
24 (V)He will flee from an iron weapon;
(W)a bronze arrow will strike (X)him through.
25 It (Y)is drawn forth and comes out of his body;
(Z)the glittering point comes out of his (AA)gallbladder;
(AB)terrors come upon him.
26 Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;
(AC)a fire not fanned will devour him;
what is left in his tent will be consumed.
27 (AD)The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against him.
28 The possessions of his house will be carried away,
dragged off in the day of God's[b] wrath.
29 (AE)This is the wicked man's portion from God,
(AF)the heritage decreed for him by God.”
Job Replies: The Wicked Do Prosper
21 Then Job answered and said:
2 (AG)“Keep listening to my words,
and let this be your comfort.
3 Bear with me, and I will speak,
and after I have spoken, (AH)mock on.
4 As for me, is my (AI)complaint against man?
Why should I not be impatient?
5 Look at me and be appalled,
and (AJ)lay your hand over your mouth.
6 When I remember, I am dismayed,
and shuddering seizes my flesh.
7 (AK)Why do the wicked live,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
8 Their (AL)offspring are established in their presence,
and their descendants before their eyes.
9 Their houses are (AM)safe from fear,
and (AN)no rod of God is upon them.
10 Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves and (AO)does not miscarry.
11 They send out their (AP)little boys like a flock,
and their children dance.
12 They sing to (AQ)the tambourine and (AR)the lyre
and rejoice to the sound of (AS)the pipe.
13 They (AT)spend their days in prosperity,
and in (AU)peace they go down to (AV)Sheol.
14 They say to God, (AW)‘Depart from us!
We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.
15 (AX)What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
And what (AY)profit do we get if we pray to him?’
16 Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?
(AZ)The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 “How often is it that (BA)the lamp of the wicked is put out?
That their calamity comes upon them?
That God[c] distributes pains in his anger?
18 That they are like (BB)straw before the wind,
and like (BC)chaff that the storm carries away?
19 You say, ‘God (BD)stores up their iniquity for their (BE)children.’
Let him pay it out to them, that they may (BF)know it.
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction,
and let them (BG)drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what do they care for their houses after them,
when (BH)the number of their months is cut off?
22 (BI)Will any teach God knowledge,
seeing that he (BJ)judges those who are on high?
23 One dies in his full vigor,
being wholly at ease and secure,
24 his pails[d] full of milk
and (BK)the marrow of his bones moist.
25 Another dies in (BL)bitterness of soul,
never having tasted of prosperity.
26 They (BM)lie down alike in the dust,
and (BN)the worms cover them.
27 “Behold, I know your thoughts
and your schemes to wrong me.
28 For you say, (BO)‘Where is the house of the prince?
Where is (BP)the tent in which the wicked lived?’
29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
and do you not accept their testimony
30 that (BQ)the evil man is spared in the day of calamity,
that he is rescued in the day of wrath?
31 Who declares his way (BR)to his face,
and who (BS)repays him for what he has done?
32 When he is (BT)carried to the grave,
watch is kept over his tomb.
33 (BU)The clods of the valley are sweet to him;
(BV)all mankind follows after him,
and those who go before him are innumerable.
34 How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”
Eliphaz Speaks: Job's Wickedness Is Great
22 Then (BW)Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 (BX)“Can a man be profitable to God?
Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right,
or is it gain to him if you (BY)make your ways blameless?
4 Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you
and (BZ)enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your evil abundant?
There is no end to your iniquities.
6 For you have (CA)exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing
(CB)and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have given no water to the weary to drink,
and you have (CC)withheld bread from the hungry.
8 (CD)The man with power possessed the land,
and (CE)the favored man lived in it.
9 You have (CF)sent widows away empty,
and (CG)the arms of (CH)the fatherless were crushed.
10 Therefore (CI)snares are all around you,
and sudden terror overwhelms you,
11 or (CJ)darkness, so that you cannot see,
and a (CK)flood of (CL)water covers you.
12 “Is not God high in the heavens?
See (CM)the highest stars, how lofty they are!
13 But you say, (CN)‘What does God know?
Can he judge through (CO)the deep darkness?
14 (CP)Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see,
and he walks on the vault of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way
that wicked men have trod?
16 They were snatched away (CQ)before their time;
their foundation was washed away.[e]
17 They said to God, (CR)‘Depart from us,’
and (CS)‘What can the Almighty do to us?’[f]
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
but (CT)the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 (CU)The righteous see it and are glad;
the innocent one (CV)mocks at them,
20 saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
and what they left (CW)the fire has consumed.’
21 (CX)“Agree with God, and (CY)be at peace;
thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive instruction from (CZ)his mouth,
and (DA)lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you (DB)return to the Almighty you will be (DC)built up;
if you (DD)remove injustice far from your tents,
24 if you lay gold in (DE)the dust,
and gold of (DF)Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold
and your precious silver.
26 For then you (DG)will delight yourself in the Almighty
and (DH)lift up your face to God.
27 You will (DI)make your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
and you will (DJ)pay your vows.
28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
and (DK)light will shine on your ways.
29 For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’;[g]
but he saves (DL)the lowly.
30 He (DM)delivers even the one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through (DN)the cleanness of your hands.”
Job Replies: Where Is God?
23 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Today also my (DO)complaint is bitter;[h]
my (DP)hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
3 Oh, (DQ)that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come even to his (DR)seat!
4 I would (DS)lay my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know what he would answer me
and understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he (DT)contend with me in the greatness of his power?
No; he would pay attention to me.
7 There an upright man could argue with him,
and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.
8 “Behold, (DU)I go forward, but he is not there,
and backward, but I do not perceive him;
9 on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
10 But he (DV)knows (DW)the way that I (DX)take;
when he has (DY)tried me, I shall come out as gold.
11 My foot (DZ)has held fast to his steps;
I have kept his way and have (EA)not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have (EB)treasured the words of his mouth more than my (EC)portion of food.
13 But he is unchangeable,[i] and (ED)who can turn him back?
What he (EE)desires, that he does.
14 For he will complete what he (EF)appoints for me,
and many such things are (EG)in his mind.
15 Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
when I consider, I am in dread of him.
16 God has made my (EH)heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me;
17 yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,
nor because thick darkness covers my face.
24 “Why are (EI)not times of judgment (EJ)kept by the Almighty,
and why do those who know him never see his (EK)days?
2 Some move (EL)landmarks;
they seize flocks and pasture them.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
they (EM)take the widow's ox for a pledge.
4 They (EN)thrust the poor off the road;
the poor of the earth (EO)all hide themselves.
5 Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert
the poor[j] (EP)go out to their toil, (EQ)seeking game;
the wasteland yields food for their children.
6 They gather their[k] fodder in the field,
and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
7 They (ER)lie all night naked, without clothing,
and have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains
and (ES)cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
9 (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,
and they take a pledge against the poor.)
10 They go about naked, without clothing;
hungry, they (ET)carry the sheaves;
11 among the olive rows of the wicked[l] they make oil;
they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.
12 From out of the city the dying[m] groan,
and the soul of (EU)the wounded cries for help;
yet God charges no one with (EV)wrong.
13 “There are those who rebel (EW)against the light,
who are not acquainted with its ways,
and do not stay in its paths.
14 The murderer rises before it is light,
that he (EX)may kill the poor and needy,
and in the night he is like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for (EY)the twilight,
saying, ‘No (EZ)eye will see me’;
and he veils his face.
16 In the dark they (FA)dig through houses;
by day they shut themselves up;
they do not know the light.
17 For (FB)deep darkness is morning to all of them;
for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
18 “You say, (FC)‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;
their portion is cursed in the land;
no treader turns toward their vineyards.
19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
so does (FD)Sheol those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them;
the worm finds them sweet;
they are (FE)no longer remembered,
so wickedness is broken like (FF)a tree.’
21 “They wrong the barren, childless woman,
and do no good to the widow.
22 Yet God[n] prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
they rise up when they despair of life.
23 He gives them security, and they are supported,
and his (FG)eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted (FH)a little while, and then (FI)are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are (FJ)cut off like the heads of grain.
25 If it is (FK)not so, who will prove me a liar
and show that there is nothing in what I say?”
Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous
25 Then (FL)Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “Dominion and fear are with God;[o]
he makes peace in his high heaven.
3 Is there any number to his (FM)armies?
Upon whom does his (FN)light not arise?
4 How then can man be (FO)in the right before God?
How can he who is (FP)born of woman be (FQ)pure?
5 Behold, even the moon is not bright,
and the stars are not pure in his eyes;
6 (FR)how much less man, who is (FS)a maggot,
and (FT)the son of man, who is a worm!”
Job Replies: God's Majesty Is Unsearchable
26 Then Job answered and said:
2 “How you have (FU)helped him who has no power!
How you have saved (FV)the arm that has no strength!
3 How you have (FW)counseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose breath (FX)has come out from you?
5 The (FY)dead tremble
under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is (FZ)naked before God,[p]
and (GA)Abaddon has no covering.
7 He (GB)stretches out the north over (GC)the void
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He (GD)binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not split open under them.
9 He covers the face of the full moon[q]
and (GE)spreads over it his cloud.
10 He has inscribed (GF)a circle on the face of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 (GG)The pillars of heaven tremble
and are astounded at his (GH)rebuke.
12 By his power he (GI)stilled the sea;
by his understanding he shattered (GJ)Rahab.
13 (GK)By his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced (GL)the fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his (GM)ways,
and how small (GN)a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
Job Continues: I Will Maintain My Integrity
27 And Job again (GO)took up his discourse, and said:
2 “As God lives, who has (GP)taken away my right,
and the Almighty, who has (GQ)made my soul bitter,
3 as long as my breath is in me,
and (GR)the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak (GS)falsehood,
and my tongue will not utter (GT)deceit.
5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;
till I die I will not put away my (GU)integrity from me.
6 I (GV)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
my heart does not (GW)reproach me for any of my days.
7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 (GX)For what is the hope of the godless (GY)when God cuts him off,
when God takes away his life?
9 (GZ)Will God hear his cry
when distress comes upon him?
10 Will he (HA)take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
(HB)what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?
13 (HC)“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
and the heritage that (HD)oppressors receive from the Almighty:
14 If his (HE)children are multiplied, it is for (HF)the sword,
and his descendants have not enough bread.
15 Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
and his (HG)widows do not weep.
16 Though he (HH)heap up silver like dust,
and pile up clothing like clay,
17 he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and (HI)the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his (HJ)house like a moth's,
like (HK)a booth that (HL)a watchman makes.
19 He goes to bed rich, but will (HM)do so no more;
he opens his eyes, and (HN)his wealth is gone.
20 (HO)Terrors overtake him like (HP)a flood;
in the night a whirlwind (HQ)carries him off.
21 (HR)The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
it (HS)sweeps him out of his place.
22 It[r] hurls at him (HT)without pity;
he flees from its[s] power in headlong flight.
23 It (HU)claps its hands at him
and (HV)hisses at him from its place.
Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?
28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold that they (HW)refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from the ore.
3 Man puts an end to darkness
and searches out to the farthest limit
the ore in (HX)gloom and (HY)deep darkness.
4 He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;
they are forgotten by travelers;
they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.
5 As for the earth, (HZ)out of it comes bread,
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of (IA)sapphires,[t]
and it has dust of gold.
7 “That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
8 (IB)The proud beasts have not trodden it;
(IC)the lion has not passed over it.
9 “Man puts his hand to (ID)the flinty rock
and overturns mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
12 (IE)“But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its worth,
and it is not found in (IF)the land of the living.
14 (IG)The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It (IH)cannot be bought for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in (II)the gold of (IJ)Ophir,
in precious (IK)onyx or (IL)sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of (IM)coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above (IN)(IO)pearls.
19 (IP)The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 “From where, then, does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of (IQ)all living
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 (IR)Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
23 (IS)“God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
24 For he (IT)looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he (IU)gave to the wind its weight
and apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
and (IV)a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
28 And he said to man,
‘Behold, (IW)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to (IX)turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Job's Summary Defense
29 And Job again (IY)took up his discourse, and said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his (IZ)lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime,[u]
when the (JA)friendship of God was upon my tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my (JB)children were all around me,
6 when my steps were (JC)washed with (JD)butter,
and (JE)the rock poured out for me streams of (JF)oil!
7 When I went out to (JG)the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking
and (JH)laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their (JI)tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I (JJ)delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 (JK)The blessing of him who was (JL)about to perish came upon me,
and I caused (JM)the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I (JN)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and (JO)a turban.
15 I was (JP)eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out (JQ)the cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I (JR)broke (JS)the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 (JT)Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my (JU)nest,
and I shall multiply my days as (JV)the sand,
19 my (JW)roots spread out to (JX)the waters,
with the dew all night on my (JY)branches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
and my (JZ)bow ever (KA)new in my hand.’
21 “Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word (KB)dropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
and they (KC)opened their mouths as for the (KD)spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and (KE)the light of my (KF)face they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like (KG)a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
30 “But now they (KH)laugh at me,
men who are (KI)younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
(KJ)men whose (KK)vigor is gone?
3 Through want and hard hunger
they (KL)gnaw (KM)the dry ground by night in (KN)waste and desolation;
4 they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
and the roots of the broom tree for their food.[v]
5 (KO)They are driven out from human company;
they shout after them as after a thief.
6 In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
in holes of the earth and of (KP)the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they (KQ)bray;
under (KR)the nettles they huddle together.
8 A senseless, a nameless brood,
they have been whipped out of the land.
9 “And now I have become their (KS)song;
I am (KT)a byword to them.
10 They (KU)abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
they do not hesitate to (KV)spit at the sight of me.
11 Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
they have cast off restraint[w] in my presence.
12 On my (KW)right hand the rabble rise;
they push away my feet;
they (KX)cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path;
they promote my (KY)calamity;
they need no one to help them.
14 As through a wide (KZ)breach they come;
amid the crash they roll on.
15 (LA)Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed away like (LB)a cloud.
16 “And now my soul is (LC)poured out within me;
days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 (LD)The night (LE)racks my bones,
and the pain that (LF)gnaws me takes no rest.
18 With great force my garment is (LG)disfigured;
it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 God[x] has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like (LH)dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you only look at me.
21 You have (LI)turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you (LJ)persecute me.
22 (LK)You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
23 (LL)For I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house appointed for (LM)all living.
Footnotes
- Job 20:23 Hebrew he
- Job 20:28 Hebrew his
- Job 21:17 Hebrew he
- Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Job 22:16 Or their foundation was poured out as a stream (or river)
- Job 22:17 Hebrew them
- Job 22:29 Or you say, ‘It is exaltation’
- Job 23:2 Or defiant
- Job 23:13 Or one
- Job 24:5 Hebrew they
- Job 24:6 Hebrew his
- Job 24:11 Hebrew their olive rows
- Job 24:12 Or the men
- Job 24:22 Hebrew he
- Job 25:2 Hebrew him
- Job 26:6 Hebrew him
- Job 26:9 Or his throne
- Job 27:22 Or He (that is, God); also verse 23
- Job 27:22 Or his; also verse 23
- Job 28:6 Or lapis lazuli; also verse 16
- Job 29:4 Hebrew my autumn days
- Job 30:4 Or warmth
- Job 30:11 Hebrew the bridle
- Job 30:19 Hebrew He
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Bible Gateway Recommends
