Job 26-31

New International Version

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

⁵ “The dead are in deep anguish,^(E)
    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
⁶ The realm of the dead^(F) is naked before God;
    Destruction^[a](G) lies uncovered.^(H)
7 He spreads out the northern skies^(I) over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.^(J)
8 He wraps up the waters^(K) in his clouds,^(L)
    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
⁹ He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading his clouds^(M) over it.
¹⁰ He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters^(N)
    for a boundary between light and darkness.^(O)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,^(P)
    aghast at his rebuke.
¹² By his power he churned up the sea;^(Q)
    by his wisdom^(R) he cut Rahab^(S) to pieces.
¹³ By his breath the skies^(T) became fair;
    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.^(U)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
    how faint the whisper^(V) we hear of him!^(W)
    Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”^(X)

² “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,^(Z)
    the Almighty,^(AA) who has made my life bitter,^(AB)
3 as long as I have life within me,
    the breath of God^(AC) in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not say anything wicked,
    and my tongue will not utter lies.^(AD)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.^(AE)
6 I will maintain my innocence^(AF) and never let go of it;
    my conscience^(AG) will not reproach me as long as I live.^(AH)

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

¹¹ “I will teach you about the power of God;
    the ways^(AO) of the Almighty I will not conceal.^(AP)
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:^(AQ)
14 However many his children,^(AR) their fate is the sword;^(AS)
    his offspring will never have enough to eat.^(AT)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
    and their widows will not weep for them.^(AU)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust^(AV)
    and clothes like piles of clay,^(AW)
17 what he lays up^(AX) the righteous will wear,^(AY)
    and the innocent will divide his silver.^(AZ)
18 The house^(BA) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,^(BB)
    like a hut^(BC) made by a watchman.
¹⁹ He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;^(BD)
    when he opens his eyes, all is gone.^(BE)
20 Terrors^(BF) overtake him like a flood;^(BG)
    a tempest snatches him away in the night.^(BH)
21 The east wind^(BI) carries him off, and he is gone;^(BJ)
    it sweeps him out of his place.^(BK)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy^(BL)
    as he flees headlong^(BM) from its power.^(BN)
23 It claps its hands^(BO) in derision
    and hisses him out of his place.”^(BP)

¹² But where can wisdom be found?^(CH)
    Where does understanding dwell?^(CI)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;^(CJ)
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.^(CK)
14 The deep^(CL) says, “It is not in me”;
    the sea^(CM) says, “It is not with me.”
¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
    nor can its price be weighed out in silver.^(CN)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,^(CO)
    with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.^(CP)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,^(CQ)
    nor can it be had for jewels of gold.^(CR)
18 Coral^(CS) and jasper^(CT) are not worthy of mention;
    the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.^(CU)
19 The topaz^(CV) of Cush^(CW) cannot compare with it;
    it cannot be bought with pure gold.^(CX)

²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?^(CY)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    concealed even from the birds in the sky.^(CZ)
22 Destruction^[c](DA) and Death^(DB) say,
    “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
²³ God understands the way to it
    and he alone^(DC) knows where it dwells,^(DD)
24 for he views the ends of the earth^(DE)
    and sees everything under the heavens.^(DF)
25 When he established the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,^(DG)
26 when he made a decree for the rain^(DH)
    and a path for the thunderstorm,^(DI)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
    he confirmed it and tested it.^(DJ)
28 And he said to the human race,
    “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
    and to shun evil^(DK) is understanding.”^(DL)

² “How I long for the months gone by,^(DN)
    for the days when God watched over me,^(DO)
3 when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!^(DP)
4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
    when God’s intimate friendship^(DQ) blessed my house,^(DR)
5 when the Almighty was still with me
    and my children^(DS) were around me,^(DT)
6 when my path was drenched with cream^(DU)
    and the rock^(DV) poured out for me streams of olive oil.^(DW)

⁷ “When I went to the gate^(DX) of the city
    and took my seat in the public square,
⁸ the young men saw me and stepped aside^(DY)
    and the old men rose to their feet;^(DZ)
9 the chief men refrained from speaking^(EA)
    and covered their mouths with their hands;^(EB)
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,^(EC)
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.^(ED)
11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
    and those who saw me commended me,^(EE)
12 because I rescued the poor^(EF) who cried for help,
    and the fatherless^(EG) who had none to assist them.^(EH)
13 The one who was dying blessed me;^(EI)
    I made the widow’s^(EJ) heart sing.
¹⁴ I put on righteousness^(EK) as my clothing;
    justice was my robe and my turban.^(EL)
15 I was eyes^(EM) to the blind
    and feet to the lame.^(EN)
16 I was a father to the needy;^(EO)
    I took up the case^(EP) of the stranger.^(EQ)
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
    and snatched the victims^(ER) from their teeth.^(ES)

¹⁸ “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,
    my days as numerous as the grains of sand.^(ET)
19 My roots will reach to the water,^(EU)
    and the dew will lie all night on my branches.^(EV)
20 My glory will not fade;^(EW)
    the bow^(EX) will be ever new in my hand.’^(EY)

²¹ “People listened to me expectantly,
    waiting in silence for my counsel.^(EZ)
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;^(FA)
    my words fell gently on their ears.^(FB)
23 They waited for me as for showers
    and drank in my words as the spring rain.^(FC)
24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
    the light of my face^(FD) was precious to them.^[d](FE)
25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;^(FF)
    I dwelt as a king^(FG) among his troops;
    I was like one who comforts mourners.^(FH)

30 “But now they mock me,^(FI)
    men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
    to put with my sheep dogs.^(FJ)
2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,
    since their vigor had gone from them?
³ Haggard from want and hunger,
    they roamed^[e] the parched land^(FK)
    in desolate wastelands^(FL) at night.^(FM)
4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs,^(FN)
    and their food^[f] was the root of the broom bush.^(FO)
5 They were banished from human society,
    shouted at as if they were thieves.
⁶ They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,
    among the rocks and in holes in the ground.^(FP)
7 They brayed^(FQ) among the bushes^(FR)
    and huddled in the undergrowth.
⁸ A base and nameless brood,^(FS)
    they were driven out of the land.^(FT)

⁹ “And now those young men mock me^(FU) in song;^(FV)
    I have become a byword^(FW) among them.
¹⁰ They detest me^(FX) and keep their distance;
    they do not hesitate to spit in my face.^(FY)
11 Now that God has unstrung my bow^(FZ) and afflicted me,^(GA)
    they throw off restraint^(GB) in my presence.
¹² On my right^(GC) the tribe^[g] attacks;
    they lay snares^(GD) for my feet,^(GE)
    they build their siege ramps against me.^(GF)
13 They break up my road;^(GG)
    they succeed in destroying me.^(GH)
    ‘No one can help him,’ they say.
¹⁴ They advance as through a gaping breach;^(GI)
    amid the ruins they come rolling in.
¹⁵ Terrors^(GJ) overwhelm me;^(GK)
    my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
    my safety vanishes like a cloud.^(GL)

¹⁶ “And now my life ebbs away;^(GM)
    days of suffering grip me.^(GN)
17 Night pierces my bones;
    my gnawing pains never rest.^(GO)
18 In his great power^(GP) God becomes like clothing to me^[h];
    he binds me like the neck of my garment.
¹⁹ He throws me into the mud,^(GQ)
    and I am reduced to dust and ashes.^(GR)

²⁰ “I cry out to you,^(GS) God, but you do not answer;^(GT)
    I stand up, but you merely look at me.
²¹ You turn on me ruthlessly;^(GU)
    with the might of your hand^(GV) you attack me.^(GW)
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;^(GX)
    you toss me about in the storm.^(GY)
23 I know you will bring me down to death,^(GZ)
    to the place appointed for all the living.^(HA)

²⁴ “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man^(HB)
    when he cries for help in his distress.^(HC)
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?^(HD)
    Has not my soul grieved for the poor?^(HE)
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
    when I looked for light, then came darkness.^(HF)
27 The churning inside me never stops;^(HG)
    days of suffering confront me.^(HH)
28 I go about blackened,^(HI) but not by the sun;
    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.^(HJ)
29 I have become a brother of jackals,^(HK)
    a companion of owls.^(HL)
30 My skin grows black^(HM) and peels;^(HN)
    my body burns with fever.^(HO)
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning,^(HP)
    and my pipe^(HQ) to the sound of wailing.

31 “I made a covenant with my eyes^(HR)
    not to look lustfully at a young woman.^(HS)
2 For what is our lot^(HT) from God above,
    our heritage from the Almighty on high?^(HU)
3 Is it not ruin^(HV) for the wicked,
    disaster^(HW) for those who do wrong?^(HX)
4 Does he not see my ways^(HY)
    and count my every step?^(HZ)

⁵ “If I have walked with falsehood
    or my foot has hurried after deceit^(IA)—
⁶ let God weigh me^(IB) in honest scales^(IC)
    and he will know that I am blameless^(ID)—
⁷ if my steps have turned from the path,^(IE)
    if my heart has been led by my eyes,
    or if my hands^(IF) have been defiled,^(IG)
8 then may others eat what I have sown,^(IH)
    and may my crops be uprooted.^(II)

⁹ “If my heart has been enticed^(IJ) by a woman,^(IK)
    or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
¹⁰ then may my wife grind^(IL) another man’s grain,
    and may other men sleep with her.^(IM)
11 For that would have been wicked,^(IN)
    a sin to be judged.^(IO)
12 It is a fire^(IP) that burns to Destruction^[i];^(IQ)
    it would have uprooted my harvest.^(IR)

¹³ “If I have denied justice to any of my servants,^(IS)
    whether male or female,
    when they had a grievance against me,^(IT)
14 what will I do when God confronts me?^(IU)
    What will I answer when called to account?^(IV)
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?^(IW)
    Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?^(IX)

¹⁶ “If I have denied the desires of the poor^(IY)
    or let the eyes of the widow^(IZ) grow weary,^(JA)
17 if I have kept my bread to myself,
    not sharing it with the fatherless^(JB)—
¹⁸ but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
    and from my birth I guided the widow^(JC)—
¹⁹ if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,^(JD)
    or the needy^(JE) without garments,
²⁰ and their hearts did not bless me^(JF)
    for warming them with the fleece^(JG) from my sheep,
²¹ if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,^(JH)
    knowing that I had influence in court,^(JI)
22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
    let it be broken off at the joint.^(JJ)
23 For I dreaded destruction from God,^(JK)
    and for fear of his splendor^(JL) I could not do such things.^(JM)

²⁴ “If I have put my trust in gold^(JN)
    or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’^(JO)
25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,^(JP)
    the fortune my hands had gained,^(JQ)
26 if I have regarded the sun^(JR) in its radiance
    or the moon^(JS) moving in splendor,
²⁷ so that my heart was secretly enticed^(JT)
    and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,^(JU)
28 then these also would be sins to be judged,^(JV)
    for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.^(JW)

²⁹ “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune^(JX)
    or gloated over the trouble that came to him^(JY)—
³⁰ I have not allowed my mouth to sin
    by invoking a curse against their life^(JZ)—
³¹ if those of my household have never said,
    ‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’^(KA)—
³² but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
    for my door was always open to the traveler^(KB)—
³³ if I have concealed^(KC) my sin as people do,^[j]
    by hiding^(KD) my guilt in my heart
³⁴ because I so feared the crowd^(KE)
    and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
    that I kept silent^(KF) and would not go outside—

³⁵ (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!^(KG)
    I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
    let my accuser^(KH) put his indictment in writing.
³⁶ Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,^(KI)
    I would put it on like a crown.^(KJ)
37 I would give him an account of my every step;^(KK)
    I would present it to him as to a ruler.^(KL))—

³⁸ “if my land cries out against me^(KM)
    and all its furrows are wet^(KN) with tears,
³⁹ if I have devoured its yield without payment^(KO)
    or broken the spirit of its tenants,^(KP)
40 then let briers^(KQ) come up instead of wheat
    and stinkweed^(KR) instead of barley.”