Bible in 90 Days

8 Bildad the Shuhite replies to Job:

² “How long will you go on like this, Job, blowing words around like wind? ³ Does God twist justice? ⁴ If your children sinned against him, and he punished them, ⁵ and you begged Almighty God for them— ⁶ if you were pure and good, he would hear your prayer and answer you and bless you with a happy home. ⁷ And though you started with little, you would end with much.

⁸ “Read the history books and see— ⁹ for we were born but yesterday and know so little; our days here on earth are as transient as shadows. ¹⁰ But the wisdom of the past will teach you. The experience of others will speak to you, reminding you that ^11-13 those who forget God have no hope. They are like rushes without any mire to grow in; or grass without water to keep it alive. Suddenly it begins to wither, even before it is cut. ¹⁴ A man without God is trusting in a spider’s web. Everything he counts on will collapse. ¹⁵ If he counts on his home for security, it won’t last. ¹⁶ At dawn he seems so strong and virile, like a green plant; his branches spread across the garden. ¹⁷ His roots are in the stream, down among the stones. ¹⁸ But when he disappears, he isn’t even missed! ¹⁹ That is all he can look forward to! And others spring up from the earth to replace him!

²⁰ “But look! God will not cast away a good man, nor prosper evildoers. ²¹ He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. ²² Those who hate you shall be clothed with shame, and the wicked destroyed.”

9 Job’s reply:

² “Yes, I know all that. You’re not telling me anything new. But how can a man be truly good in the eyes of God? ³ If God decides to argue with him, can a man answer even one question of a thousand he asks? ⁴ For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever opposed him successfully?

⁵ “Suddenly he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger. ⁶ He shakes the earth to its foundations. ⁷ The sun won’t rise, the stars won’t shine, if he commands it so! ⁸ Only he has stretched the heavens out and stalked along the seas. ⁹ He made the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern Zodiac.

¹⁰ “He does incredible miracles, too many to count. ¹¹ He passes by, invisible; he moves along, but I don’t see him go. ¹² When he sends death to snatch a man away,^[a] who can stop him? Who dares to ask him, ‘What are you doing?’

¹³ “And God does not abate his anger. The pride of man^[b] collapses before him. ¹⁴ And who am I that I should try to argue with Almighty God, or even reason with him? ¹⁵ Even if I were sinless, I wouldn’t say a word. I would only plead for mercy. ¹⁶ And even if my prayers were answered, I could scarce believe that he had heard my cry. ¹⁷ For he is the one who destroys, and multiplies my wounds without a cause. ¹⁸ He will not let me breathe, but fills me with bitter sorrows. ¹⁹ He alone is strong and just.

²⁰ “But I? Am I righteous? My own mouth says no. Even if I were perfect, God would prove me wicked. ²¹ And even if I am utterly innocent, I dare not think of it. I despise what I am. ²² Innocent or evil, it is all the same to him, for he destroys both kinds. ²³ He will laugh when calamity crushes the innocent. ²⁴ The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked. God blinds the eyes of the judges and lets them be unfair. If not he, then who?

²⁵ “My life passes swiftly away, filled with tragedy. ²⁶ My years disappear like swift ships, like the eagle that swoops upon its prey.

²⁷ “If I decided to forget my complaints against God, to end my sadness and be cheerful, ²⁸ then he would pour even greater sorrows upon me. For I know that you will not hold me innocent, O God, ²⁹ but will condemn me. So what’s the use of trying? ³⁰ Even if I were to wash myself with purest water and cleanse my hands with lye to make them utterly clean, ³¹ even so you would plunge me into the ditch and mud; and even my clothing would be less filthy than you consider me to be!

^32-33 “And I cannot defend myself, for you are no mere man as I am. If you were, then we could discuss it fairly, but there is no umpire between us, no middle man, no mediator to bring us together. ³⁴ Oh, let him stop beating me, so that I need no longer live in terror of his punishment. ³⁵ Then I could speak without fear to him and tell him boldly that I am not guilty.

10 “I am weary of living. Let me complain freely. I will speak in my sorrow and bitterness. ² I will say to God, ‘Don’t just condemn me—tell me why you are doing it. ³ Does it really seem right to you to oppress and despise me, a man you have made; and to send joy and prosperity to the wicked? ^4-7 Are you unjust^[c] like men? Is your life so short that you must hound me for sins you know full well I’ve not committed? Is it because you know no one can save me from your hand?

⁸ “‘You have made me, and yet you destroy me. ⁹ Oh, please remember that I’m made of dust—will you change me back again to dust so soon? ¹⁰ You have already poured me from bottle to bottle like milk and curdled me like cheese. ¹¹ You gave me skin and flesh and knit together bones and sinews. ¹² You gave me life and were so kind and loving to me, and I was preserved by your care.

^13-14 “‘Yet all the time your real motive in making me was to destroy me if I sinned, and to refuse to forgive my iniquity. ¹⁵ Just the slightest wickedness, and I am done for. And if I’m good, that doesn’t count. I am filled with frustration. ¹⁶ If I start to get up off the ground, you leap upon me like a lion and quickly finish me off. ¹⁷ Again and again you witness against me and pour out an ever-increasing volume of wrath upon me and bring fresh armies against me.

¹⁸ “‘Why then did you even let me be born? Why didn’t you let me die at birth? ¹⁹ Then I would have been spared this miserable existence. I would have gone directly from the womb to the grave. ^20-21 Can’t you see how little time I have left? Oh, leave me alone that I may have a little moment of comfort before I leave for the land of darkness and the shadow of death, never to return— ²² a land as dark as midnight, a land of the shadow of death where only confusion reigns and where the brightest light is dark as midnight.’”

11 Zophar the Naamathite replies to Job:

² “Shouldn’t someone stem this torrent of words? Is a man proved right by all this talk? ³ Should I remain silent while you boast? When you mock God, shouldn’t someone make you ashamed? ⁴ You claim you are pure in the eyes of God! ⁵ Oh, that God would speak and tell you what he thinks! ⁶ Oh, that he would make you truly see yourself, for he knows everything you’ve done. Listen! God is doubtless punishing you far less than you deserve!

⁷ “Do you know the mind and purposes of God? Will long searching make them known to you? Are you qualified to judge the Almighty? ⁸ He is as faultless as heaven is high—but who are you? His mind is fathomless—what can you know in comparison? ⁹ His Spirit is broader than the earth and wider than the sea. ¹⁰ If he rushes in and makes an arrest, and calls the court to order, who is going to stop him? ¹¹ For he knows perfectly all the faults and sins of mankind; he sees all sin without searching.

¹² “Mere man is as likely to be wise as a wild donkey’s colt is likely to be born a man!

^13-14 “Before you turn to God and stretch out your hands to him, get rid of your sins and leave all iniquity behind you. ¹⁵ Only then, without the spots of sin to defile you, can you walk steadily forward to God without fear. ¹⁶ Only then can you forget your misery. It will all be in the past. ¹⁷ And your life will be cloudless; any darkness will be as bright as morning!

¹⁸ “You will have courage because you will have hope. You will take your time and rest in safety. ¹⁹ You will lie down unafraid, and many will look to you for help. ²⁰ But the wicked shall find no way to escape; their only hope is death.”

12 Job’s reply:

² “Yes, I realize you know everything! All wisdom will die with you! ³ Well, I know a few things myself—you are no better than I am. And who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying? ⁴ I, the man who begged God for help, and God answered him, have become a laughingstock to my neighbors. Yes, I, a righteous man, am now the man they scoff at. ⁵ Meanwhile, the rich mock those in trouble and are quick to despise all those in need. ⁶ For robbers prosper. Go ahead and provoke God—it makes no difference! He will supply your every need anyway!

^7-9 “Who doesn’t know that the Lord does things like that? Ask the dumbest beast—he knows that it is so; ask the birds—they will tell you; or let the earth teach you, or the fish of the sea. ¹⁰ For the soul of every living thing is in the hand of God, and the breath of all mankind. ¹¹ Just as my mouth can taste good food, so my mind tastes truth when I hear it. ¹² And as you say, older men like me^[d] are wise. They understand. ¹³ But true wisdom and power are God’s. He alone knows what we should do; he understands.

¹⁴ “And how great is his might! What he destroys can’t be rebuilt. When he closes in on a man, there is no escape. ¹⁵ He withholds the rain, and the earth becomes a desert; he sends the storms and floods the ground. ¹⁶ Yes, with him is strength and wisdom. Deceivers and deceived are both his slaves.

¹⁷ “He makes fools of counselors and judges. ¹⁸ He reduces kings to slaves and frees their servants. ¹⁹ Priests are led away as slaves. He overthrows the mighty. ²⁰ He takes away the voice of orators and the insight of the elders. ²¹ He pours contempt upon princes and weakens the strong. ²² He floods the darkness with light, even the dark shadow of death. ²³ He raises up a nation and then destroys it. He makes it great, and then reduces it to nothing. ^24-25 He takes away the understanding of presidents and kings, and leaves them wandering, lost and groping, without a guiding light.

13 “Look, I have seen many instances such as you describe. I understand what you are saying. ² I know as much as you do. I’m not stupid. ³ Oh, how I long to speak directly to the Almighty. I want to talk this over with God himself. ⁴ For you are misinterpreting the whole thing. You are doctors who don’t know what they are doing. ⁵ Oh, please be quiet! That would be your highest wisdom.

⁶ “Listen to me now, to my reasons for what I think and to my pleadings.

⁷ “Must you go on ‘speaking for God’ when he never once has said the things that you are putting in his mouth? ⁸ Does God want your help if you are going to twist the truth for him? ⁹ Be careful that he doesn’t find out what you are doing! Or do you think you can fool God as well as men? ¹⁰ No, you will be in serious trouble with him if you use lies to try to help him out. ¹¹ Doesn’t his majesty strike terror to your heart? How can you do this thing? ¹² These tremendous statements you have made have about as much value as ashes. Your defense of God is as fragile as a clay vase!

¹³ “Be silent now and leave me alone, that I may speak—and I am willing to face the consequences. ¹⁴ Yes, I will take my life in my hand and say what I really think. ¹⁵ God may kill me for saying this—in fact, I expect him to. Nevertheless, I am going to argue my case with him.^{[e] 16} This at least will be in my favor, that I am not godless, to be rejected instantly from his presence. ¹⁷ Listen closely to what I am about to say. Hear me out.

¹⁸ “This is my case: I know that I am righteous. ¹⁹ Who can argue with me over this? If you could prove me wrong, I would stop defending myself and die.

²⁰ “O God, there are two things I beg you not to do to me; only then will I be able to face you. ²¹ Don’t abandon me. And don’t terrify me with your awesome presence. ²² Call to me to come—how quickly I will answer! Or let me speak to you, and you reply. ²³ Tell me, what have I done wrong? Help me! Point out my sin to me. ²⁴ Why do you turn away from me? Why hand me over to my enemy? ²⁵ Would you blame a leaf that is blown about by the wind? Will you chase dry, useless straws?

²⁶ “You write bitter things against me and bring up all the follies of my youth. ^27-28 You send me to prison and shut me in on every side. I am like a fallen, rotten tree, like a moth-eaten coat.

14 “How frail is man, how few his days, how full of trouble! ² He blossoms for a moment like a flower—and withers; as the shadow of a passing cloud, he quickly disappears. ³ Must you be so harsh with frail men and demand an accounting from them? ⁴ How can you demand purity in one born impure? ⁵ You have set mankind so brief a span of life—months is all you give him! Not one bit longer may he live. ⁶ So give him a little rest, won’t you? Turn away your angry gaze and let him have a few moments of relief before he dies.

⁷ “For there is hope for a tree—if it’s cut down, it sprouts again and grows tender, new branches. ^8-9 Though its roots have grown old in the earth, and its stump decays, it may sprout and bud again at the touch of water, like a new seedling. ¹⁰ But when a man dies and is buried, where does his spirit go? ^11-12 As water evaporates from a lake, as a river disappears in drought, so a man lies down for the last time and does not rise again until the heavens are no more; he shall not awaken, nor be roused from his sleep. ¹³ Oh, that you would hide me with the dead and forget me there until your anger ends; but mark your calendar to think of me again!

¹⁴ “If a man dies, shall he live again? This thought gives me hope, so that in all my anguish I eagerly await sweet death! ¹⁵ You would call and I would come, and you would reward all I do. ¹⁶ But now, instead, you give me so few steps upon the stage of life and notice every mistake I make. ¹⁷ You bundle them all together as evidence against me.

^18-19 “Mountains wear away and disappear. Water grinds the stones to sand. Torrents tear away the soil. So every hope of man is worn away. ^20-21 Always you are against him, and then he passes off the scene. You make him old and wrinkled, then send him away. He never knows it if his sons are honored; or they may fail and face disaster, but he knows it not. ²² For him there is only sorrow and pain.”

15 The answer of Eliphaz the Temanite:

² “You are supposed to be a wise man, and yet you give us all this foolish talk. You are nothing but a windbag. ³ It isn’t right to speak so foolishly. What good do such words do? ^4-5 Have you no fear of God? No reverence for him? Your sins are telling your mouth what to say! Your words are based on clever deception, ⁶ but why should I condemn you? Your own mouth does!

^7-8 “Are you the wisest man alive? Were you born before the hills were made? Have you heard the secret counsel of God? Are you called into his counsel room? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom? ⁹ What do you know more than we do? What do you understand that we don’t? ¹⁰ On our side are aged men much older than your father! ¹¹ Is God’s comfort too little for you? Is his gentleness too rough?

¹² “What is this you are doing, getting carried away by your anger, with flashing eyes? ¹³ And you turn against God and say all these evil things against him. ¹⁴ What man in all the earth can be as pure and righteous as you claim to be? ¹⁵ Why, God doesn’t even trust the angels! Even the heavens can’t be absolutely pure compared with him! ¹⁶ How much less someone like you, who is corrupt and sinful, drinking in sin as a sponge soaks up water!

^17-19 “Listen, and I will answer you from my own experience, confirmed by the experience of wise men who have been told this same thing from their fathers—our ancestors to whom alone the land was given—and they have passed this wisdom to us:

²⁰ “A wicked man is always in trouble throughout his life. ²¹ He is surrounded by terrors, and if there are good days, they will soon be gone. ²² He dares not go out into the darkness lest he be murdered. ^23-24 He wanders around begging for food. He lives in fear, distress, and anguish. His enemies conquer him as a king defeats his foes. ^25-26 Armed with his tin shield, he clenches his fist against God, defying the Almighty, stubbornly assaulting him.

^27-28 “This wicked man is fat and rich, and has lived in conquered cities after killing off their citizens. ²⁹ But he will not continue to be rich, or to extend his possessions. ³⁰ No, darkness shall overtake him forever; the breath of God shall destroy him; the flames shall burn up all he has.

³¹ “Let him no longer trust in foolish riches;^[f] let him no longer deceive himself, for the money he trusts in will be his only reward. ³² Before he dies, all this futility will become evident to him. For all he counted on will disappear ³³ and fall to the ground like a withered grape.^[g] How little will come of his hopes! ³⁴ For the godless are barren: they can produce nothing truly good. God’s fire consumes them with all their possessions. ³⁵ The only thing they can ‘conceive’ is sin, and their hearts give birth only to wickedness.”

16 Job’s reply:

² “I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters all of you are. ³ Won’t you ever stop your flow of foolish words? What have I said that makes you speak so endlessly? ⁴ But perhaps I’d sermonize the same as you—if you were I and I were you. I would spout off my criticisms against you and shake my head at you. ⁵ But no! I would speak in such a way that it would help you. I would try to take away your grief.

⁶ “But now my grief remains no matter how I defend myself; nor does it help if I refuse to speak. ⁷ For God has ground me down and taken away my family. ⁸ O God, you have turned me to skin and bones—as a proof, they say, of my sins. ⁹ God hates me and angrily tears at my flesh; he has gnashed upon me with his teeth and watched to snuff out any sign of life. ¹⁰ These ‘comforters’ have gaping jaws to swallow me; they slap my cheek. My enemies gather themselves against me. ¹¹ And God has delivered me over to sinners, into the hands of the wicked.

¹² “I was living quietly until he broke me apart. He has taken me by the neck and dashed me to pieces, then hung me up as his target. ¹³ His archers surround me, letting fly their arrows, so that the ground is wet from my blood. ¹⁴ Again and again he attacks me, running upon me like a giant. ¹⁵ Here I sit in sackcloth; and have laid all hope in the dust. ¹⁶ My eyes are red with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death.

¹⁷ “Yet I am innocent, and my prayer is pure. ¹⁸ O Earth, do not conceal my blood. Let it protest on my behalf.

¹⁹ “Yet even now the witness to my innocence is there in heaven; my advocate is there on high. ²⁰ My friends scoff at me, but I pour out my tears to God, ²¹ pleading that he will listen as a man would listen to his neighbor. ²² For all too soon I must go down that road from which I shall never return.

17 “I am sick and near to death; the grave is ready to receive me. ² I am surrounded by mockers. I see them everywhere. ^3-4 Will no one anywhere confirm my innocence? But you, O God, have kept them back from understanding this. Oh, do not let them triumph. ⁵ If they accept bribes to denounce their friends, their children shall go blind.

⁶ “He has made me a mockery among the people; they spit in my face. ⁷ My eyes are dim with weeping and I am but a shadow of my former self. ⁸ Fair-minded men are astonished when they see me.

“Yet, finally, the innocent shall come out on top, above the godless; ⁹ the righteous shall move onward and forward; those with pure hearts shall become stronger and stronger.

¹⁰ “As for you—all of you please go away; for I do not find a wise man among you. ¹¹ My good days are in the past. My hopes have disappeared. My heart’s desires are broken. ¹² They say that night is day and day is night; how they pervert the truth!

^13-14 “If I die, I go out into darkness, and call the grave my father, and the worm my mother and my sister. ¹⁵ Where then is my hope? Can anyone find any? ¹⁶ No, my hope will go down with me to the grave. We shall rest together in the dust!”

18 The further reply of Bildad the Shuhite:

² “Who are you trying to fool? Speak some sense if you want us to answer! ³ Have we become like animals to you, stupid and dumb? ⁴ Just because you tear your clothes in anger, is this going to start an earthquake? Shall we all go and hide?

⁵ “The truth remains that if you do not prosper, it is because you are wicked. And your bright flame shall be put out. ⁶ There will be darkness in every home where there is wickedness.

⁷ “The confident stride of the wicked man will be shortened; he will realize his failing strength. ^8-9 He walks into traps, and robbers will ambush him. ¹⁰ There is a booby trap in every path he takes. ¹¹ He has good cause for fear—his enemy is close behind him!

¹² “His vigor is depleted by hunger; calamity stands ready to pounce upon him. ¹³ His skin is eaten by disease. Death shall devour him. ¹⁴ The wealth he trusted in shall reject him, and he shall be brought down to the king of terrors. ¹⁵ His home shall disappear beneath a fiery barrage of brimstone. ¹⁶ He shall die from the roots up, and all his branches will be lopped off.

¹⁷ “All memory of his existence will perish from the earth; no one will remember him. ¹⁸ He will be driven out from the kingdom of light into darkness and chased out of the world. ¹⁹ He will have neither son nor grandson left, nor any other relatives. ²⁰ Old and young alike will be horrified by his fate. ²¹ Yes, that is what happens to sinners, to those rejecting God.”

19 The reply of Job:

² “How long are you going to trouble me, and try to break me with your words? ³ Ten times now you have declared I am a sinner. Why aren’t you ashamed to deal with me so harshly? ⁴ And if indeed I was wrong, you have yet to prove it. ⁵ You think yourselves so great? Then prove my guilt!

⁶ “The fact of the matter is that God has overthrown me and caught me in his net. ⁷ I scream for help and no one hears me. I shriek, but get no justice. ⁸ God has blocked my path and turned my light to darkness. ⁹ He has stripped me of my glory and removed the crown from my head. ¹⁰ He has broken me down on every side, and I am done for. He has destroyed all hope. ¹¹ His fury burns against me; he counts me as an enemy. ¹² He sends his troops to surround my tent.

¹³ “He has sent away my brothers and my friends. ¹⁴ My relatives have failed me; my friends have all forsaken me. ¹⁵ Those living in my home, even my servants, regard me as a stranger. I am like a foreigner to them. ¹⁶ I call my servant, but he doesn’t come; I even beg him! ¹⁷ My own wife and brothers refuse to recognize me. ¹⁸ Even young children despise me. When I stand to speak, they mock.

¹⁹ “My best friends abhor me. Those I loved have turned against me. ²⁰ I am skin and bones and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.

²¹ “Oh, my friends, pity me, for the angry hand of God has touched me. ²² Why must you persecute me as God does? Why aren’t you satisfied with my anguish? ^23-24 Oh, that I could write my plea with an iron pen in the rock forever.

²⁵ “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last. ²⁶ And I know that after this body has decayed, this body shall see God!^{[h] 27} Then he will be on my side! Yes, I shall see him, not as a stranger, but as a friend! What a glorious hope!

²⁸ “How dare you go on persecuting me, as though I were proven guilty? ²⁹ I warn you, you yourselves are in danger of punishment for your attitude.”

20 The speech of Zophar the Naamathite:

² “I hasten to reply, for I have the answer for you. ³ You have tried to make me feel ashamed of myself for calling you a sinner, but my spirit won’t let me stop.

⁴ “Don’t you realize that ever since man was first placed upon the earth, ⁵ the triumph of the wicked has been short-lived, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? ⁶ Though the godless be proud as the heavens and walk with his nose in the air, ⁷ yet he shall perish forever, cast away like his own dung. Those who knew him will wonder where he has gone. ⁸ He will fade like a dream. ⁹ Neither his friends nor his family will ever see him again.

¹⁰ “His children shall beg from the poor, their hard labor shall repay his debts. ¹¹ Though still a young man, his bones shall lie in the dust.

¹² “He enjoyed the taste of his wickedness, letting it melt in his mouth, ¹³ sipping it slowly, lest it disappear.

¹⁴ “But suddenly the food he has eaten turns sour within him. ¹⁵ He will vomit the plunder he gorged. God won’t let him keep it down. ¹⁶ It is like poison and death to him. ¹⁷ He shall not enjoy the goods he stole; they will not be butter and honey to him after all. ¹⁸ His labors shall not be rewarded; wealth will give him no joy. ¹⁹ For he has oppressed the poor and foreclosed their homes; he will never recover. ²⁰ Though he was always greedy, now he has nothing; of all the things he dreamed of—none remain. ²¹ Because he stole at every opportunity, his prosperity shall not continue.

²² “He shall run into trouble at the peak of his powers; all the wicked shall destroy him. ²³ Just as he is about to fill his belly, God will rain down wrath upon him. ²⁴ He will be chased and struck down. ²⁵ The arrow is pulled from his body—and the glittering point comes out from his gall. The terrors of death are upon him.

²⁶ “His treasures will be lost in deepest darkness. A raging fire will devour his goods, consuming all he has left. ²⁷ The heavens will reveal his sins, and the earth will give testimony against him. ²⁸ His wealth will disappear beneath the wrath of God. ²⁹ This is what awaits the wicked man, for God prepares it for him.”

21 Job’s reply:

^2-3 “Listen to me; let me speak, and afterwards, mock on.

⁴ “I am complaining about God,^[i] not man; no wonder my spirit is so troubled. ⁵ Look at me in horror, and lay your hand upon your mouth. ⁶ Even I am frightened when I see myself. Horror takes hold upon me and I shudder.

⁷ “The truth is that the wicked live on to a good old age and become great and powerful. ⁸ They live to see their children grow to maturity around them, and their grandchildren too. ⁹ Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them. ¹⁰ Their cattle are productive, ¹¹ they have many happy children, ^12-13 they spend their time singing and dancing. They are wealthy and need deny themselves nothing; they are prosperous to the end. ¹⁴ All this despite the fact that they ordered God away and wanted no part of him and his ways.

¹⁵ “‘Who is Almighty God?’ they scoff. ‘Why should we obey him? What good will it do us?’

¹⁶ “Look, everything the wicked touch has turned to gold! But I refuse even to deal with people like that. ¹⁷ Yet the wicked get away with it every time. They never have trouble, and God skips them when he distributes his sorrows and anger. ¹⁸ Are they driven before the wind like straw? Are they carried away by the storm? Not at all!

¹⁹ “‘Well,’ you say, ‘at least God will punish their children!’ But I say that God should punish the man who sins, not his children! Let him feel the penalty himself. ²⁰ Yes, let him be destroyed for his iniquity. Let him drink deeply of the anger of the Almighty. ²¹ For when he is dead, then he will never again be able to enjoy his family.

²² “But who can rebuke God, the supreme Judge? ^23-24 He destroys those who are healthy, wealthy, fat, and prosperous; ²⁵ God also destroys those in deep and grinding poverty who have never known anything good. ²⁶ Both alike are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same worms.

²⁷ “I know what you are going to say— ²⁸ you will tell me of rich and wicked men who came to disaster because of their sins. ²⁹ But I reply, Ask anyone who has been around and he can tell you the truth, ^30-32 that the evil man is usually spared in the day of calamity and allowed to escape. No one rebukes him openly. No one repays him for what he has done. And an honor guard keeps watch at his grave. ³³ A great funeral procession precedes and follows him as the soft earth covers him. ³⁴ How can you comfort me when your whole premise is so wrong?”

22 Another address from Eliphaz:

² “Is mere man of any worth to God? Even the wisest is of value only to himself! ³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous? Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect? ⁴ Is it because you are good that he is punishing you? ⁵ Not at all! It is because of your wickedness! Your sins are endless!

⁶ “For instance, you must have refused to loan money to needy friends unless they gave you all their clothing as a pledge—yes, you must have stripped them to the bone. ⁷ You must have refused water to the thirsty and bread to the starving. ⁸ But no doubt you gave men of importance anything they wanted and let the wealthy live wherever they chose. ⁹ You sent widows away without helping them and broke the arms of orphans. ^10-11 That is why you are now surrounded by traps and sudden fears, and darkness and waves of horror.

¹² “God is so great—higher than the heavens, higher than the stars. ¹³ But you reply, ‘That is why he can’t see what I am doing! How can he judge through the thick darkness? ¹⁴ For thick clouds swirl about him so that he cannot see us. He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’

^15-16 “Don’t you realize that those treading the ancient paths of sin are snatched away in youth, and the foundations of their lives washed out forever? ¹⁷ For they said to God, ‘Go away, God! What can you do for us?’ ¹⁸ (God forbid that I should say a thing like that.) Yet they forgot that he had filled their homes with good things. ¹⁹ And now the righteous shall see them destroyed; the innocent shall laugh the wicked to scorn. ²⁰ ‘See,’ they will say, ‘the last of our enemies have been destroyed in the fire.’

²¹ “Quit quarreling with God! Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong. ²² Listen to his instructions and store them in your heart. ²³ If you return to God and put right all the wrong in your home, then you will be restored. ²⁴ If you give up your lust for money and throw your gold away, ²⁵ then the Almighty himself shall be your treasure; he will be your precious silver!

²⁶ “Then you will delight yourself in the Lord and look up to God. ²⁷ You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill all your promises to him. ²⁸ Whatever you wish will happen! And the light of heaven will shine upon the road ahead of you. ²⁹ If you are attacked and knocked down, you will know that there is someone who will lift you up again. Yes, he will save the humble ³⁰ and help even sinners by your pure hands.”

23 The reply of Job:

² “My complaint today is still a bitter one, and my punishment far more severe than my fault deserves. ³ Oh, that I knew where to find God—that I could go to his throne and talk with him there. ^4-5 I would tell him all about my side of this argument, and listen to his reply, and understand what he wants. ⁶ Would he merely overpower me with his greatness? No, he would listen with sympathy. ⁷ Fair and honest men could reason with him and be acquitted by my Judge.

⁸ “But I search in vain. I seek him here, I seek him there and cannot find him. ⁹ I seek him in his workshop in the north but cannot find him there; nor can I find him in the south; there, too, he hides himself. ¹⁰ But he knows every detail of what is happening to me; and when he has examined me, he will pronounce me completely innocent—as pure as solid gold!

¹¹ “I have stayed in God’s paths, following his steps. I have not turned aside. ¹² I have not refused his commandments but have enjoyed them more than my daily food. ¹³ Nevertheless, his mind concerning me remains unchanged, and who can turn him from his purposes? Whatever he wants to do, he does. ¹⁴ So he will do to me all he has planned, and there is more ahead.^[j]

¹⁵ “No wonder I am so terrified in his presence. When I think of it, terror grips me. ^16-17 God has given me a fainting heart; he, the Almighty, has terrified me with darkness all around me, thick, impenetrable darkness everywhere.

24 “Why doesn’t God open the court and listen to my case? Why must the godly wait for him in vain? ² For a crime wave has engulfed us—landmarks are moved, flocks of sheep are stolen, ³ and even the donkeys of the poor and fatherless are taken. Poor widows must surrender the little they have as a pledge to get a loan. ⁴ The needy are kicked aside; they must get out of the way. ⁵ Like the wild donkeys in the desert, the poor must spend all their time just getting barely enough to keep soul and body together. They are sent into the desert to search for food for their children. ⁶ They eat what they find that grows wild and must even glean the vineyards of the wicked. ⁷ All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering. ⁸ They are wet with the showers of the mountains and live in caves for want of a home.

⁹ “The wicked snatch fatherless children from their mother’s breasts, and take a poor man’s baby as a pledge before they will loan him any money or grain. ¹⁰ That is why they must go about naked, without clothing, and are forced to carry food while they are starving. ¹¹ They are forced to press out the olive oil without tasting it and to tread out the grape juice as they suffer from thirst. ¹² The bones of the dying cry from the city; the wounded cry for help; yet God does not respond to their moaning.

¹³ “The wicked rebel against the light and are not acquainted with the right and the good. ^14-15 They are murderers who rise in the early dawn to kill the poor and needy; at night they are thieves and adulterers, waiting for the twilight ‘when no one will see me,’ they say. They mask their faces so no one will know them. ¹⁶ They break into houses at night and sleep in the daytime—they are not acquainted with the light. ¹⁷ The black night is their morning; they ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness.

¹⁸ “But how quickly they disappear from the face of the earth. Everything they own is cursed. They leave no property for their children. ¹⁹ Death consumes sinners as drought and heat consume snow. ²⁰ Even the sinner’s own mother shall forget him. Worms shall feed sweetly on him. No one will remember him anymore. For wicked men are broken like a tree in the storm. ²¹ For they have taken advantage of the childless who have no protecting sons. They refuse to help the needy widows.

^22-23 “Yet sometimes^[k] it seems as though God preserves the rich by his power and restores them to life when anyone else would die. God gives them confidence and strength, and helps them in many ways. ²⁴ But though they are very great now, yet in a moment they shall be gone like all others, cut off like heads of grain. ²⁵ Can anyone claim otherwise? Who can prove me a liar and claim that I am wrong?”