Job 20-28

New International Version

² “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
    because I am greatly disturbed.^(B)
3 I hear a rebuke^(C) that dishonors me,
    and my understanding inspires me to reply.

⁴ “Surely you know how it has been from of old,^(D)
    ever since mankind^[a] was placed on the earth,
⁵ that the mirth of the wicked^(E) is brief,
    the joy of the godless^(F) lasts but a moment.^(G)
6 Though the pride^(H) of the godless person reaches to the heavens^(I)
    and his head touches the clouds,^(J)
7 he will perish forever,^(K) like his own dung;
    those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’^(L)
8 Like a dream^(M) he flies away,^(N) no more to be found,
    banished^(O) like a vision of the night.^(P)
9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
    his place will look on him no more.^(Q)
10 His children^(R) must make amends to the poor;
    his own hands must give back his wealth.^(S)
11 The youthful vigor^(T) that fills his bones^(U)
    will lie with him in the dust.^(V)

¹² “Though evil^(W) is sweet in his mouth
    and he hides it under his tongue,^(X)
13 though he cannot bear to let it go
    and lets it linger in his mouth,^(Y)
14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;^(Z)
    it will become the venom of serpents^(AA) within him.
¹⁵ He will spit out the riches^(AB) he swallowed;
    God will make his stomach vomit^(AC) them up.
¹⁶ He will suck the poison^(AD) of serpents;
    the fangs of an adder will kill him.^(AE)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
    the rivers^(AF) flowing with honey^(AG) and cream.^(AH)
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;^(AI)
    he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.^(AJ)
19 For he has oppressed the poor^(AK) and left them destitute;^(AL)
    he has seized houses^(AM) he did not build.

²⁰ “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;^(AN)
    he cannot save himself by his treasure.^(AO)
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
    his prosperity will not endure.^(AP)
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;^(AQ)
    the full force of misery will come upon him.^(AR)
23 When he has filled his belly,^(AS)
    God will vent his burning anger^(AT) against him
    and rain down his blows on him.^(AU)
24 Though he flees^(AV) from an iron weapon,
    a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.^(AW)
25 He pulls it out of his back,
    the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors^(AX) will come over him;^(AY)
26     total darkness^(AZ) lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire^(BA) unfanned will consume him^(BB)
    and devour what is left in his tent.^(BC)
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
    the earth will rise up against him.^(BD)
28 A flood will carry off his house,^(BE)
    rushing waters^[b] on the day of God’s wrath.^(BF)
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
    the heritage appointed for them by God.”^(BG)

² “Listen carefully to my words;^(BH)
    let this be the consolation you give me.^(BI)
3 Bear with me while I speak,
    and after I have spoken, mock on.^(BJ)

⁴ “Is my complaint^(BK) directed to a human being?
    Why should I not be impatient?^(BL)
5 Look at me and be appalled;
    clap your hand over your mouth.^(BM)
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;^(BN)
    trembling seizes my body.^(BO)
7 Why do the wicked live on,
    growing old and increasing in power?^(BP)
8 They see their children established around them,
    their offspring before their eyes.^(BQ)
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;^(BR)
    the rod of God is not on them.^(BS)
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
    their cows calve and do not miscarry.^(BT)
11 They send forth their children as a flock;^(BU)
    their little ones dance about.
¹² They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;^(BV)
    they make merry to the sound of the pipe.^(BW)
13 They spend their years in prosperity^(BX)
    and go down to the grave^(BY) in peace.^[c](BZ)
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!^(CA)
    We have no desire to know your ways.^(CB)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    What would we gain by praying to him?’^(CC)
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.^(CD)

¹⁷ “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?^(CE)
    How often does calamity^(CF) come upon them,
    the fate God allots in his anger?^(CG)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
    like chaff^(CH) swept away^(CI) by a gale?^(CJ)
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’^(CK)
    Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!^(CL)
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;^(CM)
    let them drink^(CN) the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.^(CO)
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind^(CP)
    when their allotted months^(CQ) come to an end?^(CR)

²² “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,^(CS)
    since he judges even the highest?^(CT)
23 One person dies in full vigor,^(CU)
    completely secure and at ease,^(CV)
24 well nourished^(CW) in body,^[d]
    bones^(CX) rich with marrow.^(CY)
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,^(CZ)
    never having enjoyed anything good.
²⁶ Side by side they lie in the dust,^(DA)
    and worms^(DB) cover them both.^(DC)

²⁷ “I know full well what you are thinking,
    the schemes by which you would wrong me.
²⁸ You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,^(DD)
    the tents where the wicked lived?’^(DE)
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
    Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
³⁰ that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,^(DF)
    that they are delivered from^[e] the day of wrath?^(DG)
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
    Who repays them for what they have done?^(DH)
32 They are carried to the grave,
    and watch is kept over their tombs.^(DI)
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;^(DJ)
    everyone follows after them,
    and a countless throng goes^[f] before them.^(DK)

³⁴ “So how can you console me^(DL) with your nonsense?
    Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”^(DM)

² “Can a man be of benefit to God?^(DO)
    Can even a wise person benefit him?^(DP)
3 What pleasure^(DQ) would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?^(DR)
    What would he gain if your ways were blameless?^(DS)

⁴ “Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
    and brings charges against you?^(DT)
5 Is not your wickedness great?
    Are not your sins^(DU) endless?^(DV)
6 You demanded security^(DW) from your relatives for no reason;^(DX)
    you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.^(DY)
7 You gave no water^(DZ) to the weary
    and you withheld food from the hungry,^(EA)
8 though you were a powerful man, owning land^(EB)—
    an honored man,^(EC) living on it.^(ED)
9 And you sent widows^(EE) away empty-handed^(EF)
    and broke the strength of the fatherless.^(EG)
10 That is why snares^(EH) are all around you,^(EI)
    why sudden peril terrifies you,^(EJ)
11 why it is so dark^(EK) you cannot see,
    and why a flood of water covers you.^(EL)

¹² “Is not God in the heights of heaven?^(EM)
    And see how lofty are the highest stars!
¹³ Yet you say, ‘What does God know?^(EN)
    Does he judge through such darkness?^(EO)
14 Thick clouds^(EP) veil him, so he does not see us^(EQ)
    as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’^(ER)
15 Will you keep to the old path
    that the wicked^(ES) have trod?^(ET)
16 They were carried off before their time,^(EU)
    their foundations^(EV) washed away by a flood.^(EW)
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    What can the Almighty do to us?’^(EX)
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,^(EY)
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.^(EZ)
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;^(FA)
    the innocent mock^(FB) them, saying,
²⁰ ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,^(FC)
    and fire^(FD) devours their wealth.’

²¹ “Submit to God and be at peace^(FE) with him;^(FF)
    in this way prosperity will come to you.^(FG)
22 Accept instruction from his mouth^(FH)
    and lay up his words^(FI) in your heart.^(FJ)
23 If you return^(FK) to the Almighty, you will be restored:^(FL)
    If you remove wickedness far from your tent^(FM)
24 and assign your nuggets^(FN) to the dust,
    your gold^(FO) of Ophir^(FP) to the rocks in the ravines,^(FQ)
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,^(FR)
    the choicest silver for you.^(FS)
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty^(FT)
    and will lift up your face^(FU) to God.^(FV)
27 You will pray to him,^(FW) and he will hear you,^(FX)
    and you will fulfill your vows.^(FY)
28 What you decide on will be done,^(FZ)
    and light^(GA) will shine on your ways.^(GB)
29 When people are brought low^(GC) and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
    then he will save the downcast.^(GD)
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,^(GE)
    who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”^(GF)

² “Even today my complaint^(GG) is bitter;^(GH)
    his hand^[g] is heavy in spite of^[h] my groaning.^(GI)
3 If only I knew where to find him;
    if only I could go to his dwelling!^(GJ)
4 I would state my case^(GK) before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.^(GL)
5 I would find out what he would answer me,^(GM)
    and consider what he would say to me.
⁶ Would he vigorously oppose me?^(GN)
    No, he would not press charges against me.^(GO)
7 There the upright^(GP) can establish their innocence before him,^(GQ)
    and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.^(GR)

⁸ “But if I go to the east, he is not there;
    if I go to the west, I do not find him.
⁹ When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
    when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.^(GS)
10 But he knows the way that I take;^(GT)
    when he has tested me,^(GU) I will come forth as gold.^(GV)
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;^(GW)
    I have kept to his way without turning aside.^(GX)
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;^(GY)
    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.^(GZ)

¹³ “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?^(HA)
    He does whatever he pleases.^(HB)
14 He carries out his decree against me,
    and many such plans he still has in store.^(HC)
15 That is why I am terrified before him;^(HD)
    when I think of all this, I fear him.^(HE)
16 God has made my heart faint;^(HF)
    the Almighty^(HG) has terrified me.^(HH)
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,^(HI)
    by the thick darkness that covers my face.

24 “Why does the Almighty not set times^(HJ) for judgment?^(HK)
    Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?^(HL)
2 There are those who move boundary stones;^(HM)
    they pasture flocks they have stolen.^(HN)
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
    and take the widow’s ox in pledge.^(HO)
4 They thrust the needy^(HP) from the path
    and force all the poor^(HQ) of the land into hiding.^(HR)
5 Like wild donkeys^(HS) in the desert,
    the poor go about their labor^(HT) of foraging food;
    the wasteland^(HU) provides food for their children.
⁶ They gather fodder^(HV) in the fields
    and glean in the vineyards^(HW) of the wicked.^(HX)
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
    they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.^(HY)
8 They are drenched^(HZ) by mountain rains
    and hug^(IA) the rocks for lack of shelter.^(IB)
9 The fatherless^(IC) child is snatched^(ID) from the breast;
    the infant of the poor is seized^(IE) for a debt.^(IF)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;^(IG)
    they carry the sheaves,^(IH) but still go hungry.
¹¹ They crush olives among the terraces^[i];
    they tread the winepresses,^(II) yet suffer thirst.^(IJ)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.^(IK)
    But God charges no one with wrongdoing.^(IL)

¹³ “There are those who rebel against the light,^(IM)
    who do not know its ways
    or stay in its paths.^(IN)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
    kills^(IO) the poor and needy,^(IP)
    and in the night steals forth like a thief.^(IQ)
15 The eye of the adulterer^(IR) watches for dusk;^(IS)
    he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’^(IT)
    and he keeps his face concealed.
¹⁶ In the dark, thieves break into houses,^(IU)
    but by day they shut themselves in;
    they want nothing to do with the light.^(IV)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
    they make friends with the terrors^(IW) of darkness.^(IX)

¹⁸ “Yet they are foam^(IY) on the surface of the water;^(IZ)
    their portion of the land is cursed,^(JA)
    so that no one goes to the vineyards.^(JB)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,^(JC)
    so the grave^(JD) snatches away those who have sinned.
²⁰ The womb forgets them,
    the worm^(JE) feasts on them;^(JF)
the wicked are no longer remembered^(JG)
    but are broken like a tree.^(JH)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
    and to the widow they show no kindness.^(JI)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;^(JJ)
    though they become established,^(JK) they have no assurance of life.^(JL)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,^(JM)
    but his eyes^(JN) are on their ways.^(JO)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;^(JP)
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;^(JQ)
    they are cut off like heads of grain.^(JR)

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

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

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

⁵ “The dead are in deep anguish,^(KG)
    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
⁶ The realm of the dead^(KH) is naked before God;
    Destruction^[j](KI) lies uncovered.^(KJ)
7 He spreads out the northern skies^(KK) over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.^(KL)
8 He wraps up the waters^(KM) in his clouds,^(KN)
    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
⁹ He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading his clouds^(KO) over it.
¹⁰ He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters^(KP)
    for a boundary between light and darkness.^(KQ)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,^(KR)
    aghast at his rebuke.
¹² By his power he churned up the sea;^(KS)
    by his wisdom^(KT) he cut Rahab^(KU) to pieces.
¹³ By his breath the skies^(KV) became fair;
    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.^(KW)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
    how faint the whisper^(KX) we hear of him!^(KY)
    Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”^(KZ)

² “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,^(LB)
    the Almighty,^(LC) who has made my life bitter,^(LD)
3 as long as I have life within me,
    the breath of God^(LE) in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not say anything wicked,
    and my tongue will not utter lies.^(LF)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.^(LG)
6 I will maintain my innocence^(LH) and never let go of it;
    my conscience^(LI) will not reproach me as long as I live.^(LJ)

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

¹¹ “I will teach you about the power of God;
    the ways^(LQ) of the Almighty I will not conceal.^(LR)
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:^(LS)
14 However many his children,^(LT) their fate is the sword;^(LU)
    his offspring will never have enough to eat.^(LV)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
    and their widows will not weep for them.^(LW)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust^(LX)
    and clothes like piles of clay,^(LY)
17 what he lays up^(LZ) the righteous will wear,^(MA)
    and the innocent will divide his silver.^(MB)
18 The house^(MC) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,^(MD)
    like a hut^(ME) made by a watchman.
¹⁹ He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;^(MF)
    when he opens his eyes, all is gone.^(MG)
20 Terrors^(MH) overtake him like a flood;^(MI)
    a tempest snatches him away in the night.^(MJ)
21 The east wind^(MK) carries him off, and he is gone;^(ML)
    it sweeps him out of his place.^(MM)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy^(MN)
    as he flees headlong^(MO) from its power.^(MP)
23 It claps its hands^(MQ) in derision
    and hisses him out of his place.”^(MR)

¹² But where can wisdom be found?^(NJ)
    Where does understanding dwell?^(NK)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;^(NL)
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.^(NM)
14 The deep^(NN) says, “It is not in me”;
    the sea^(NO) says, “It is not with me.”
¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
    nor can its price be weighed out in silver.^(NP)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,^(NQ)
    with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.^(NR)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,^(NS)
    nor can it be had for jewels of gold.^(NT)
18 Coral^(NU) and jasper^(NV) are not worthy of mention;
    the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.^(NW)
19 The topaz^(NX) of Cush^(NY) cannot compare with it;
    it cannot be bought with pure gold.^(NZ)

²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?^(OA)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    concealed even from the birds in the sky.^(OB)
22 Destruction^[l](OC) and Death^(OD) say,
    “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
²³ God understands the way to it
    and he alone^(OE) knows where it dwells,^(OF)
24 for he views the ends of the earth^(OG)
    and sees everything under the heavens.^(OH)
25 When he established the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,^(OI)
26 when he made a decree for the rain^(OJ)
    and a path for the thunderstorm,^(OK)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
    he confirmed it and tested it.^(OL)
28 And he said to the human race,
    “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
    and to shun evil^(OM) is understanding.”^(ON)