Job 25-31

English Standard Version

² “Dominion and fear are with God;^[a]
    he makes peace in his high heaven.
³ Is there any number to his ^(B)armies?
    Upon whom does his ^(C)light not arise?
⁴ How then can man be ^(D)in the right before God?
    How can he who is ^(E)born of woman be ^(F)pure?
⁵ Behold, even the moon is not bright,
    and the stars are not pure in his eyes;
^6 (G)how much less man, who is ^(H)a maggot,
    and ^(I)the son of man, who is a worm!”

² “How you have ^(J)helped him who has no power!
    How you have saved ^(K)the arm that has no strength!
³ How you have ^(L)counseled him who has no wisdom,
    and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
⁴ With whose help have you uttered words,
    and whose breath ^(M)has come out from you?
⁵ The ^(N)dead tremble
    under the waters and their inhabitants.
⁶ Sheol is ^(O)naked before God,^[b]
    and ^(P)Abaddon has no covering.
⁷ He ^(Q)stretches out the north over ^(R)the void
    and hangs the earth on nothing.
⁸ He ^(S)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^[c]
    and ^(T)spreads over it his cloud.
¹⁰ He has inscribed ^(U)a circle on the face of the waters
    at the boundary between light and darkness.
^11 (V)The pillars of heaven tremble
    and are astounded at his ^(W)rebuke.
¹² By his power he ^(X)stilled the sea;
    by his understanding he shattered ^(Y)Rahab.
^13 (Z)By his wind the heavens were made fair;
    his hand pierced ^(AA)the fleeing serpent.
¹⁴ Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ^(AB)ways,
    and how small ^(AC)a whisper do we hear of him!
    But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

² “As God lives, who has ^(AE)taken away my right,
    and the Almighty, who has ^(AF)made my soul bitter,
³ as long as my breath is in me,
    and ^(AG)the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not speak ^(AH)falsehood,
    and my tongue will not utter ^(AI)deceit.
⁵ Far be it from me to say that you are right;
    till I die I will not put away my ^(AJ)integrity from me.
⁶ I ^(AK)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
    my heart does not ^(AL)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 (AM)For what is the hope of the godless ^(AN)when God cuts him off,
    when God takes away his life?
^9 (AO)Will God hear his cry
    when distress comes upon him?
¹⁰ Will he ^(AP)take delight in the Almighty?
    Will he call upon God at all times?
¹¹ I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
    ^(AQ)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 (AR)“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
    and the heritage that ^(AS)oppressors receive from the Almighty:
¹⁴ If his ^(AT)children are multiplied, it is for ^(AU)the sword,
    and his descendants have not enough bread.
¹⁵ Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
    and his ^(AV)widows do not weep.
¹⁶ Though he ^(AW)heap up silver like dust,
    and pile up clothing like clay,
¹⁷ he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
    and ^(AX)the innocent will divide the silver.
¹⁸ He builds his ^(AY)house like a moth's,
    like ^(AZ)a booth that ^(BA)a watchman makes.
¹⁹ He goes to bed rich, but will ^(BB)do so no more;
    he opens his eyes, and ^(BC)his wealth is gone.
^20 (BD)Terrors overtake him like ^(BE)a flood;
    in the night a whirlwind ^(BF)carries him off.
^21 (BG)The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
    it ^(BH)sweeps him out of his place.
²² It^[d] hurls at him ^(BI)without pity;
    he flees from its^[e] power in headlong flight.
²³ It ^(BJ)claps its hands at him
    and ^(BK)hisses at him from its place.

⁷ “That path no bird of prey knows,
    and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
^8 (BQ)The proud beasts have not trodden it;
    ^(BR)the lion has not passed over it.

⁹ “Man puts his hand to ^(BS)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 (BT)“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 ^(BU)the land of the living.
^14 (BV)The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
¹⁵ It ^(BW)cannot be bought for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
¹⁶ It cannot be valued in ^(BX)the gold of ^(BY)Ophir,
    in precious ^(BZ)onyx or ^(CA)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 ^(CB)coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above ^(CC)(CD)pearls.
^19 (CE)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 ^(CF)all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
^22 (CG)Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

^23 (CH)“God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
²⁴ For he ^(CI)looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ When he ^(CJ)gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain
    and ^(CK)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, ^(CL)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to ^(CM)turn away from evil is understanding.’”

² “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
    as in the days when God watched over me,
³ when his ^(CO)lamp shone upon my head,
    and by his light I walked through darkness,
⁴ as I was in my prime,^[g]
    when the ^(CP)friendship of God was upon my tent,
⁵ when the Almighty was yet with me,
    when my ^(CQ)children were all around me,
⁶ when my steps were ^(CR)washed with ^(CS)butter,
    and ^(CT)the rock poured out for me streams of ^(CU)oil!
⁷ When I went out to ^(CV)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 ^(CW)laid their hand on their mouth;
¹⁰ the voice of the nobles was hushed,
    and their ^(CX)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 ^(CY)delivered the poor who cried for help,
    and the fatherless who had none to help him.
^13 (CZ)The blessing of him who was ^(DA)about to perish came upon me,
    and I caused ^(DB)the widow's heart to sing for joy.
¹⁴ I ^(DC)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
    my justice was like a robe and ^(DD)a turban.
¹⁵ I was ^(DE)eyes to the blind
    and feet to the lame.
¹⁶ I was a father to the needy,
    and I searched out ^(DF)the cause of him whom I did not know.
¹⁷ I ^(DG)broke ^(DH)the fangs of the unrighteous
    and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
^18 (DI)Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my ^(DJ)nest,
    and I shall multiply my days as ^(DK)the sand,
¹⁹ my ^(DL)roots spread out to ^(DM)the waters,
    with the dew all night on my ^(DN)branches,
²⁰ my glory fresh with me,
    and my ^(DO)bow ever ^(DP)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 ^(DQ)dropped upon them.
²³ They waited for me as for the rain,
    and they ^(DR)opened their mouths as for the ^(DS)spring rain.
²⁴ I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
    and ^(DT)the light of my ^(DU)face they did not cast down.
²⁵ I chose their way and sat as chief,
    and I lived like ^(DV)a king among his troops,
    like one who comforts mourners.

30 “But now they ^(DW)laugh at me,
    men who are ^(DX)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,
    ^(DY)men whose ^(DZ)vigor is gone?
³ Through want and hard hunger
    they ^(EA)gnaw ^(EB)the dry ground by night in ^(EC)waste and desolation;
⁴ they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
    and the roots of the broom tree for their food.^[h]
5 (ED)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 ^(EE)the rocks.
⁷ Among the bushes they ^(EF)bray;
    under ^(EG)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 ^(EH)song;
    I am ^(EI)a byword to them.
¹⁰ They ^(EJ)abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
    they do not hesitate to ^(EK)spit at the sight of me.
¹¹ Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
    they have cast off restraint^[i] in my presence.
¹² On my ^(EL)right hand the rabble rise;
    they push away my feet;
    they ^(EM)cast up against me their ways of destruction.
¹³ They break up my path;
    they promote my ^(EN)calamity;
    they need no one to help them.
¹⁴ As through a wide ^(EO)breach they come;
    amid the crash they roll on.
^15 (EP)Terrors are turned upon me;
    my honor is pursued as by the wind,
    and my prosperity has passed away like ^(EQ)a cloud.

¹⁶ “And now my soul is ^(ER)poured out within me;
    days of affliction have taken hold of me.
^17 (ES)The night ^(ET)racks my bones,
    and the pain that ^(EU)gnaws me takes no rest.
¹⁸ With great force my garment is ^(EV)disfigured;
    it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
¹⁹ God^[j] has cast me into the mire,
    and I have become like ^(EW)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 ^(EX)turned cruel to me;
    with the might of your hand you ^(EY)persecute me.
^22 (EZ)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 (FA)For I know that you will bring me to death
    and to the house appointed for ^(FB)all living.

²⁴ “Yet does not one in a ^(FC)heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
    and in his disaster cry for help?^[k]
25 Did not I ^(FD)weep for him whose day was hard?
    Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
²⁶ But ^(FE)when I hoped for good, evil came,
    and when I waited for light, ^(FF)darkness came.
²⁷ My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
    days of affliction ^(FG)come to meet me.
²⁸ I ^(FH)go about darkened, but not by the sun;
    I stand up in ^(FI)the assembly and cry for help.
²⁹ I am a brother of ^(FJ)jackals
    and a companion of ^(FK)ostriches.
³⁰ My ^(FL)skin turns black and falls from me,
    and my ^(FM)bones burn with heat.
³¹ My ^(FN)lyre is ^(FO)turned to mourning,
    and my ^(FP)pipe to the voice of those who weep.

⁵ “If I have walked with falsehood
    and my foot has hastened to deceit;
⁶ (Let me be ^(FV)weighed in a just balance,
    and let God know my integrity!)
⁷ if my step has turned aside from the way
    and ^(FW)my heart has gone after my eyes,
    and if any ^(FX)spot has stuck to my hands,
⁸ then let me ^(FY)sow, and another eat,
    and let what grows for me^[l] be rooted out.

⁹ “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,
    and I have ^(FZ)lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
¹⁰ then let my wife ^(GA)grind for another,
    and let others ^(GB)bow down on her.
¹¹ For that would be a heinous crime;
    that would be an iniquity ^(GC)to be punished by the judges;
¹² for that would be a fire ^(GD)that consumes as far as Abaddon,
    and it would burn to the root all my increase.

¹³ “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
    when they brought a complaint against me,
¹⁴ what then shall I do when God rises up?
    When he ^(GE)makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
¹⁵ Did ^(GF)not he who made me in the womb make him?
    And did not one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶ “If I have ^(GG)withheld anything that the poor desired,
    or have ^(GH)caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
¹⁷ or have eaten my morsel alone,
    and the fatherless has not eaten of it
¹⁸ (for from my youth the fatherless^[m] grew up with me as with a father,
    and from my mother's womb I guided the widow^[n]),
¹⁹ if I have seen anyone ^(GI)perish for ^(GJ)lack of clothing,
    or the needy without ^(GK)covering,
²⁰ if his body has not ^(GL)blessed me,^[o]
    and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
²¹ if I have raised my hand against ^(GM)the fatherless,
    because I saw my help in ^(GN)the gate,
²² then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
    and let my arm be broken from its socket.
²³ For I was ^(GO)in terror of calamity from God,
    and I could not have faced his ^(GP)majesty.

^24 (GQ)“If I have made gold my ^(GR)trust
    or called ^(GS)fine gold my confidence,
²⁵ if I have ^(GT)rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
    or because ^(GU)my hand had found much,
^26 (GV)if I have looked at the sun^[p] when it shone,
    or ^(GW)the moon moving in splendor,
²⁷ and my heart has been secretly enticed,
    and my mouth has kissed my hand,
²⁸ this also would be ^(GX)an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
    for I would have been false to God above.

²⁹ “If I have ^(GY)rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
    or exulted when evil overtook him
³⁰ (^(GZ)I have not let my mouth sin
    by asking for his life with a curse),
³¹ if the men of my tent have not said,
    ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his ^(HA)meat?’
³² (^(HB)the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
    I have opened my doors to the traveler),
³³ if I ^(HC)have concealed my transgressions ^(HD)as others do^[q]
    by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
³⁴ because I stood in great fear of ^(HE)the multitude,
    and the contempt of families terrified me,
    so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
³⁵ Oh, that I had one to hear me!
    (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty ^(HF)answer me!)
    Oh, that I had ^(HG)the indictment written by my adversary!
³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my ^(HH)shoulder;
    I would ^(HI)bind it on me as ^(HJ)a crown;
³⁷ I would give him an account of all my steps;
    like a prince I would approach him.

³⁸ “If my land has cried out against me
    and its furrows have wept together,
^39 (HK)if I have eaten its yield without payment
    and made its owners ^(HL)breathe their last,
⁴⁰ let ^(HM)thorns grow instead of wheat,
    and foul weeds instead of barley.”